L L CC The Lotus Leaf Cafe and Creperie
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The Lotus Leaf Cafe and Creperie is one of the few restaurants in Wichita, Kansas that is devoted to a plant-based, vegetarian menu. It offers vegan and gluten-free options as well. It is unique in product as well as location—found downtown in a historic district. The Lotus Leaf Cafe and Creperie’s branding is outdated, tired, and not memorable.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS Strategy .......................................................................................... 6 Research Paper .............................................................. 6-7 Target Audience ........................................................... 8-9 SWOT ..................................................................................... 10 Brand Mission .................................................................... 11 Creative Brief .............................................................. 12-13 Style Guide ...................... ......................................................... 14 Logo ................................................................................ 14-15 Moodboard .................................................................. 15-16 Infographic ................................................................... 17-18 Media Mix ...................................................................... 18-21 Design Standards ...................................................................... 22 Logo Standards ................................................................. 22 Logo Guidelines ............................................................... 23 Color Palette ..................................................................... 24 Typography ....................................................................... 25 Textures and Imagery .............................................. 26-27
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Style Guide 7
Logo Usage The Lotus Leaf Cafe and Creperie’s logo is easily forgettable and does not stand out from the competitors. In the vegetarian restaurant sector, light typography with some form of a leaf seems to be the usual. This new logo design moves away from a typical natural foods diner and draws on triangular shapes referencing nostalgia of a 1970’s diner but with an abstract incorporation of the word marks of the title within each shape. This ties together retro design with the typography and form, and modernity with implied line and without a picture. Keeping in mind David Airey’s rules to keep it simple, make it relevant, and to incorporate tradition and distinction, the new logo quickly states to the consumer with a recognizable symbol that this cafe is casual but efficient.
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The primary logo incorporates both a picture mark and a word mark. When these two are used, they may only be used vertically, as seen below. The pictorial mark may be used on its own when used on various print media that is repetitive. The minimum size is 1 inch, and the space around the logo should be no less than the “L� of the Lotus and Leaf typography. Only colors from the color palette should be used.
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Research In an age where information is quickly found and shared, more and more people are learning about where their food comes from and what it takes to get from the farm to the table. Increasing awareness on the importance of adding more organic vegetables in to the American diet has caused adults to begin looking for nutritious alternatives when dinning out. The Lotus Leaf Cafe and Creperie, in Wichita, Kansas focuses on vegetarian and vegan dishes while constantly changing its menu to fit the season. The thesis for this paper is to discuss and assess the values of The Lotus Leaf while promoting the brand effectively to encourage Wichitans to choose the cafe as a healthy option. To promote this eatery, the focus of the brand campaign will be to expand on its uniqueness in the community. The Lotus Leaf is one of the few restaurants in Wichita that offers organic food and is affordable. For the same price as an item on a conventional menu at a common restaurant, diners can choose something gluten-free, organic, vegan, vegetarian, or raw. If conserving the environment is important to the consumer, then the fact that using local ingredients as much as possible in each menu item will be operative. The Lotus Leaf cuts down pollution by transporting vegetables from local farmers, knows how the vegetables were grown and harvested, and uses these vegetables seasonally. By eating with the season, consumers are able to obtain nutrients from the dishes in a most optimal way. The faster the food arrives from farm to plate, the higher the nutrient content.
In this small, Mid-Western, town, there are few options like those The Lotus Leaf offers and this needs to be exemplified. Since it is a small cafe, advertising appears to be minimal. The problem is that consumers do not know that it exists, and some people are leery of vegan or raw food. Increasing awareness of the importance of health, and promoting education on the variety of dishes that can be created from vegetables, will make it less scary for traditional Mid-West consumers to try The Lotus Leaf. In recent years, the “slow food movement” has been rapidly growing in the United States, and The Lotus Leaf Cafe and Creperie is an appropriate choice when coinciding with the crusade. As Gervais Williams said in a debate at the University of Cambridge, “’Slow Food’ has changed consumer attitudes and behavior. The food companies have to watch what ingredients they put into our food, because we’re watching what ingredients go into our food” (2012). More and more people are becoming health conscious and environmentally alert, and The Lotus Leaf directs their entire value on this lifestyle. By offering vegetarian and vegan options, they welcome participants of the “slow food movement” to satisfy consumers’ desire for healthiness and sustainability. Williams also said: “The best way to change the behavior of our businesses is to change our behavior as consumers” (2012). In a response to the dangers of fast food, slow food focuses on nutrient content in the food and how it is grown and harvested. Consumers want to know where their food is coming from and are demanding knowledge. Businesses are starting to change their behaviors. If this movement continues to grow and consumers are passionate about their health, the food industry could potentially be forced to change their
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habits of massive food production and farming. The unique thing about The Lotus Leaf is that when available, ingredients are used from local farmers. The restaurant is open with the information about what is organic or where it came from. This will put specific consumers, such as vegans, vegetarians, gluten-intolerant, or health-conscious at ease, as this type of honesty is rare in Wichita, Kansas. Americans have become so used to the supermarket system where they expect any item they desire to eat to be readily available and at a cheap price. “Imported fruits and vegetables account for almost two-thirds of the produce consumed in the U.S.” (Fast, 2012). Conventional farming engineers ways to yield produce all year-round. This results in food that has little nutrient content or flavor and most likely laden with herbicides or pesticides. By changing their menu seasonally, The Lotus Leaf offers new dishes that have higher nutrient content than any competitor. Health conscious consumers will be delighted with this practice. Environmental consumers are concerned about the pollution transporting good causes. When using local ingredients, the impact on the environment is more minimal than conventionally grown produce. “Large industrial farms depend on petroleum-based fertilizers, weed killers and petrochemicals. Processing, transporting food long distances in refrigerated trucks and cooling out-of-season food uses more fossil fuels” (Fast, 2012). In short, the processing of growing, harvesting, and transporting the goods are all harmful. As stated before, by eating seasonally, the nutrient content of the vegetables will automatically be higher.
. As Neil Zevnik said in “Better Eating. Eating Seasonally,” “any foodstuff that has to travel a long distance also has to be picked sooner and less ripe than a local counterpart” (2013). This gives The Lotus Leaf a rare advantage over almost any other restaurant in town. If consumers are looking for healthy and flavorful food, fresh, local ingredients are a must. The Lotus Leaf is also affordable. With the average menu item around 10 dollars a person, this is in line with most all restaurants in the Wichita area. There is a stigma with natural food that it is more expensive and this “justifies” consumers to choose a more mainstream, fast food or American chain restaurant. But with the prices at The Lotus Leaf being at the lower end of regular restaurant prices, this excuse might, optimistically, die down.
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L L CC The Lotus Leaf Cafe and Creperie
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