For this comprehensive rebrand project, I selected a restaurant in my neighborhood to create a thorough branding update and usage guidelines for. For clarity, this was not a commissioned project but an assignment for DES325 at San Francisco State University.
I chose to rebrand Loving Hut, an international restaurant chain offering affordable vegan takes on traditional Thai, Vietnamese and Chinese dishes. Their existing branding was loose and inconsistent, so I created a new logo and provided updated color usage and type treatment guidelines.
The first step of the project was to become thoroughly aware of their current branding and competition by conducting research on the internet. I identified areas of their brand that were working effectively and ineffectively, and referenced competing restaurants with more cohesive branding packages. As a brainstorming activity I wrote down an extensive list of words that could be effective in creating a more full-bodied brand for Loving Hut. I continued brainstorming by sketching out a visual vocabulary of drawings representative of the brand and its values, such as hearts, leaves and utensils. I used my research and brainstorming to create 36 logo iterations exploring as many entirely different concepts as possible.
With a wide bank of logo sketches to work with, I chose the three strongest options to further explore. With a few refined digital iterations, I was able to decide on a direction that would accurately represent the brand.
I created many further refined iterations of this direction to identify typefaces, colors and arrangements that could effectively be applied throughout branding materials.
Once typefaces and colors had been selected, I created a final refinement of the logomark that reflects the stroke of the logo’s primary typeface.
With these final decisions made, I was able to create product mockups that show the new branding in use. This updated branding package will ensure Loving Hut’s ability to appear established and confident, placing it as a strong competitor in the contemporary plant-based restaurant industry.
