Will Jeffrey
Context
Studio Brief_4 Antojitos Mexicano
A new pop-up resturant brand to be built from scratch. It will be a traditional, independent business that brings Mexican culture to the UK through mouth-watering street food recipes and refreshments.
OUGD605
Brief
Build the brand and design identity, with relevant printed/digital media, for a new pop-up street food company specialising in fresh & vibrant recipes straight from the heart of Mexico.
Deliverables
- Brand Identity - Promotional material - Revevant printed epherma - Documentation through the form of a blog
The company will offer a choice of 5 hot dishes and a selection of cold beverages, and be situated in Leeds for two weeks before moving to its next destination. Target Audience
All ages, students, spare money for an expensive lunch, cultural, town in the afternoon, eat out a lot.
#01
Initial Visual Reseach.
Cliche
Will Jeffrey
When approaching Mexican themed design, I really wanted to steer clear of the most obvious and cliche sort of things people assosiate with Mexico - sombreros, chilli peppers, Mexican wrestlers.
Typeograpghy
Studio Brief_4 Antojitos Mexicano
I started looking into Mexico and it's visual culture, which led me to traditional sign painting. I really liked the imperfect decorative hand rendered type and the contrast of this against its surroundings.
Colour
OUGD605
Really warm and bold colours are notable throughout the imagery.
I began collecting images of urban Mexican and other hispanic street typography that stood out to me. They varied quite a bit in style but they all seemed to create the same sense of excitement and vibrancy - bold, colourful mixed up shadowed letterforms and rough application.
#02
Development
Will Jeffrey
Studio Brief_4 Antojitos Mexicano
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I began by developing a strong, simple memorable name for the brand. I really wanted something that sounded/looked Mexican and made sense as the name for a food business. My final decision was ‘El Gusto’ which means ‘Taste’
Logo Sketches
Experimenting with script and san-serif, I began sketches ideas for a type-based logo. From my research I felt this would be the strongest route to go down.
Logo Development
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Naming
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GUSTO
I then developed my ideas digitally trying out a range of different typeface variations.
#04
Development
Will Jeffrey
Studio Brief_4 Antojitos Mexicano
OUGD605
antojitos MEXICANo
antojitos MEXICANo
Finalised Logo
After further development of the logo I created 3 final variations that could be used interchangeably.
Colour
Looking at colours from my reference imagery, I began experimenting with the colour for the logo, which would then work over the rest of the identity. This was my final colour palette - I was really drawn towards the light pink and blues - not the obvious 'Mexican' colours so I felt this would give it a much more unique feel. Still bold and eye-catching though a nice harmonious colour range and keeps the identity simpl and concise.
#05
Reference Imagery
Will Jeffrey
Hispanic Illustration
Studio Brief_4 Antojitos Mexicano
After coming to a bit of a dead end in terms of taking the project further I began looking into more contemporary Mexican design and illustration. I found these hand-rendered hispanic psters and felt it could be interesting to try and incorporate this kind of thing into the identity. The imperfect illustrative aesthetic and cut & paste style really inspired me as it emphasises the cultures vibrance really well.
Street Art
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I really want to emphasise the idea of Mexican street culture so also began looking at their street art and artists. Migues Mejia, or ‘Nuezz’ really stood out to me - day of the dead kind of, folkloric inspired art with a modern twist.
#06
Development
Illustrations
Will Jeffrey
Studio Brief_4 Antojitos Mexicano
OUGD605
Although I wanted to keep clear of cliched imagery, I couldn’t resist after looking at Mexican street art and illustration. I felt sugar skulls were a great signifier of Mexico so developed my own versions of these in a rough illustrative style.
#07
Development
Will Jeffrey
Studio Brief_4 Antojitos Mexicano
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OUGD605
Tequila
Event Poster
The skull illustrations inspired me to develop some food and drinkimagery, which I had planned to then create a pattern with to work over printed material. As much as I loved the food illustrations and felt they communicated what the business does well, I really wasn’t happy with the outcome of the pattern. I felt it was far too childish and unoriginal.
#09
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Will Jeffrey
Studio Brief_4 Antojitos Mexicano
OUGD605
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I needed to think about how the illustrations could interact more with the design and communication. I really want them to be doing something, not just dotted around randomly.
I decided to bring the illustrations together to create these sugar skull characters, indulging in the food and drink and breathing fire. I felt this could bring something exiting and engaging to the design material and could act almost as mascots for El Gusto.
Backgrounds
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Illustration
I also experimented with rough overprint backgrounds that could be used throughout promotional material.
#10
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Development
Will Jeffrey
Studio Brief_4 Antojitos Mexicano
OUGD605
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Pattern
I still liked the idea of creating a custom pattern but wanted something a bit more professional looking and mature. I developed a series of simplified and letterpress style patterns.
#11
Will Jeffrey
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find out more at www.elgusto.co.uk
Promotional Material
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Studio Brief_4 Antojitos Mexicano
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Development.
I brought my design ideas together and created a set of posters and flyers for El Gusto.
#12
Final Outcome.
Will Jeffrey
Concept
Studio Brief_4 Antojitos Mexicano
El Gusto’s brand identity takes inspiration from a mixup of traditional and contemporary Mexican design aesthetics. It is bold, colourful, playful and unforgetable.
Printed Promotion
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Vibrant posters and flyers raise awareness of the business and advertise their presence.
Using a mix up of quirky custom typeography and illustration, the design is a starting point for the development of a successful indie food brand.
#13
Final Outcome.
Will Jeffrey
Studio Brief_4 Antojitos Mexicano
Food Wrap
OUGD605
Custom foodwrap has been designed which can be used to hold a variety of different hot food items.
#14
Final Outcome.
Will Jeffrey
Studio Brief_4 Antojitos Mexicano
Aesthetic
OUGD605
Everything the customer interacts with from El Gusto has been specifically chosen to fit with the rustic and quirky aesthetic of the brand.
#15
Final Outcome.
Will Jeffrey
Studio Brief_4 Antojitos Mexicano
Hot Sauce
OUGD605
El Gusto’s homemade hot sauces allow customers to take a piece of the brand home with them.
#16
Final Outcome.
Will Jeffrey
Studio Brief_4 Antojitos Mexicano
Printed Material
OUGD605
Beer matts, reciepts and loyalty cards have also been designed accordingly, again allowing the customer to take a piece of the brand home and remember their experience by.
#07