BRAND GUIDE
THE COMPANY FlapJack was created to be a place for young working adults to relax after work in an era of tight schedules and overworking. The idea was inspired by IHOP’s 24-hour pancake dining, but was given a unique twist to target a working-class audience. FlapJack is created with the air of a bar, where the pancake toppings are dispensed from beer taps and late-night spiked topping and milkshake options are available.
BRAND INSPIRATION Drawing inspiration from diners, beer labels, and bar branding, FlapJack’s unique style is a mix of upbeat diner and classy bar. The idea behind the hand-lettered logo and the style of the text was draw from the unique typographic imagery of Stannis beer’s package design. The curves give it a playful look, while the boldness says bar. The outlined, simple shapes that comprise FlapJack’s mark was influenced by the simplicity of the GCDC mark.
IDENTITY Because FlapJack is open at all hours, the brand works to combine aspects of both a diner and a bar. It was important to create an identity that would be applicable to both of these styles and would function at all hours of the day.
PRELIMINARY LOGOS Some created to mimic the style of a beer label, others to look like a diner logo, these different marks and sketches were drawn with the intent of creating a unique way to portray pancakes in congruity with text. Several marks were explored in order to give the implication of pancakes without drawing a fleshed-out stack of pancakes.
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THE LOGO While the original planning stages of the logo employed a strictly outlined label-style logo with a more geometric mark and hand drawn text, the final logo employed an entirely hand-drawn style, from the text itself to the outline to the mark. The colors were selceted based on several vintage diner menus and branding collateral. They were chosen to allude to the colors of pancakes, while bringing in contrasting colors.
TYPEFACES Adding a playful twist to the hand-lettered concept found on many beer labels, the primary typeface used for this project was first sketched by hand, and then vectored in the computer. The typeface Avenir was chosen as a bold, rigid typeface to complement the quirky quality of the hand-lettered type.
PRIMARY TYPEFACE Hand-lettered
SECONDARY TYPEFACE Avenir
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
PRIMARY PANTONES
Pantone 273 C
Pantone 7621 C
SECONDARY PANTONES
Pantone 352 C
Pantone 3965 C
BRAND COLORS The colors in FlapJack’s logo were chosen based on vintage color schemes, particularly found on old diner and restaurant menus. The eye-catching quality of the secondary pantone adds a twist of modernity to the vintage concept, while still maintaining the triadic color palatte.
STATIONERY After toying with multiple layouts for the letterhead, the final concept stacks the logo directly above the contact information, providing an elegant vertical layout with an even balance between the logo at the top and the text at the bottom. Using the same stacked idea for the return address on the envelope, an additional pattern element was added to the flap. This pattern was taken from the not-quite square shape of the logo.
BUSINESS CARD The business card employs the same vertically stacked concept as the stationery, additionally using the pattern on the back side. After experimenting with more quirky shapes to match the logo and pattern, the vertical one provided the best combination of classy and fun.
INSIDE THE BAR The interior of the bar combines the natural wooden feel with a modern industrial feel. The bar contains both bar-type stools and diner-type chairs and booths. It has a cozy interior with classy wall decorations and accents.
MENU With a vintage texture and a color scheme that mimics the palatte of the logo, this menu combines a grunge feel with an upbeat diner style. The headings are hand-lettered in the style of the logo text. The subheadings are the bold typeface, Bebas Neue, while the subheadings are Avenir, the same typeface as used on the stationery.
ABOVE-BAR MENU Coherent with the hand-drawn styles of both the menu headings and the logo itself, the abovebar menu will feature a hand-drawn chalkboard menu. The menu will be on a chalkboard, mounted on the wooden wall behind the bar where the pancakes are served.
COASTERS Customers who sit at the bar will have the opportunity to set their drinks on a custom made FlapJack coaster. The coasters are laser-cut out of wood with a simplified version of the pattern surrounding an outlined version of the logo in the center. The shapes are burned into the wood, creating a textured coaster surface.
INTERIOR SPACE Combining both the whimsicality of a diner with the classiness of a bar, FlapJack’s interior will feature an array of colors complemented by allnatural wood. The booths and chairs will resemble a diner atmosphere, while the bar itself and the surrounding interior space will give the feeling of being in a bar.
MARKETING Because FlapJack’s target audience is young, working-class adults, the marketing pieces are geared towards this older crawd. The company will use marketing collateral such as magazine advertisements, a webpage, and t-shirts that are available for customer purchase.
ADVERTISEMENTS These advertisements were created as a play on the idea that the pancake toppings at FlapJack are dispensed from beer taps. The syrup in the advertisements is represented as if it were beer being dispensed into a mug made of pancakes. Additionally, one advertisement contains a toast of pancake beer mugs. This is done to highlight the unique quality of the pancake bar.
T-SHIRTS The t-shirts for FlapJack further the idea of representing the pancakes analogously to an overflowing beer mug.
The front of the t-shirt
features a small, pocket-sized logo, while the bag has a handlettered version of the company tagline in addition to the pancake stack.
WEBSITE FlapJack’s website can be accessed with a desktop, a tablet, or an iPhone layout. It features an image with a mostly neutral color and accent colors similar to the logo palatte. This draws the attention to the blue bar containing the site navigation.