Project Snippet - Crack't Breakfast Sandwiches Visual Identity Exploration

During my time at Nextbite, I had the opportunity to develop visual identities for a slew of their virtual kitchen brands. Crack’t is one such brand, and like it’s sister brand Hatch House, focused on the delivery of breakfast sandwiches. While Hatfch House took a more classic approach to their offering, Crack’t was decidedly more experimental and whimsical, offering items like a chicken and waffles sandwich.

This visual identity exploration for Crack’t feeds off that playful energy, turning a retro script typeface into eggs and bacon. A cracked egg is used as the apostrophe, and an illustration system inspired by the logo is used across merch and packaging. The whole thing is tied together with a sunny and funky color palette.

Project Snippet - Hope Road Cafe

At Nextbite, we often partnered with other restaurant companies to help them break into the virtual kitchen space. As part of the pitch process for these potential partnerships, part of my role was exploring what that partnership could look like as a virtual kitchen brand. One such potential partnership was with the Bob Marley House. Below are is a visual exploration for Hope Road Cafe, a concept for a bowl-based virtual kitchen.

Project Snippet - Bad Beaches Only

Summer time means one thing; crushing cold ones on the beach. While I don’t have the ability for a summer Florida getaway this year; I can live vicariously through Bad Beaches Only. BBO is a Summertime Lager, the fourth edition made in collaboration with Bottleshare, an Atlanta-based nonprofit helping those in the beverage industry through times of crisis.

Being in North Georgia, most people go to Florida, the Georgia coast, or the Carolinas for their summer vacations. I have fond memories of growing up and going to the beach in South Florida, watching planes slowly passing over the water with banners waving behind them. It was always a treat to get the skywriters, planes that would use water vapor to write out messages in the sky. The design for Bad Beaches Only was inspired by those memories, featuring the beer name in hand-lettered clouds inspired by skywriting. Turning the can reveals the pilot, adding surprise and delight as the customer interacts with the packaging. I couldn’t decide if I liked the daytime or sunset sky best, so I’ve decided to show both.

Project Snippet - Unused Brand Direction for The Cerulean

The name The Cerulean probably looks familiar. I recently posted another Project Snippet for the same brand, showcasing some of the merchandise I designed for the concept. This is an early exploration of that same brand, one that was a bit more refined and Southern in it’s execution, reflective of the higher-income patrons of the Bay St. Louis area.

Typography inspired by classic boat name handlettering makes up the monogram and the primary logotype. A monoline script is paired with this typography to feel classic and personable. I also chose a relaxed Great Blue Heron as the brand mascot. Native to the area, you normally see these regal birds standing tall over the water or flying with their legs outstretched behind them. Instead, I’ve chosen to show the bird breezily floating along on the water. This bird is mean to represent a more refined local patron taking it easy at The Cerulean.

This small snippet of a visual identity represents the nostalgia of a bay-front seafood restaurant packaged in a contemporary way.

Project Snippet - Character Pieces for The Cerulean

Sometimes it’s the little things that you remember most, or it’s the tiny takeaways you keep as a souvenir of your experience, allowing you to look back fondly on a certain time in your life. When designing character pieces, the thought is to always create something that speaks to that brand and reminds the patron of their fond interaction with it, but to also be subtley branded in a way where the patron isn’t transformed into a walking billboard. I am vehemently against logo-slapping for this reason; no one wants to be used as free advertising, and unless they really love a brand, they won’t wear a logo loud and proud across their chest.

Character pieces have to also make sense for the brand. Yes, in the world of free swag and branded merch, t-shirts and pins are the norm. But just because they are the norm doesn’t mean they’re right for each and every brand. Take the character pieces below for The Cerulean, for example. The Cerulean (while still not open at the time of writing) is a laidback, casual seafood restaurant based out of Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Bay St. Louis is a touristy waterfront town, but The Cerulean, while wanting to also appeal to tourists, is meant to be a respite for the bay-loving locals.

When coming up with ideas for character pieces, I had to put myself in the shoes of a local; thinking about what kind of items they would actually want to take home and use, and how branded these items should be. Being the more practical sort, I imagined the patron would want items they could actually use; fishing hats and shirts to protect their skin while out on the bay, and koozies to keep their beverage of choice frosty while out in the hot sun.