Restaurant Branding Brief

Symbolism.Argentineans' cultural symbols are mostly the result of hybridization. Football (soccer in the United States) and tango (which encompasses more than just the dance itself) are probably the two strongest symbols of a common national identity. Tango refers to the music, the lyrics, and the dance itself and is a complex urban product that originated in lower-class neighborhoods of Buenos Aires city. The music, its lyrics, and the dance represent the profound transformation of the urban landscape at the beginning of the twentieth century, with the influx of diverse European immigrants. Tango expresses the amalgamation of already existing traditions, themselves a mixture of African, indigenous, and Spanish influences with elements brought by Italians, Spaniards, French, Germans, Polish, and Jews. Argentine nationalists felt threatened by the newcomers because they felt they jeopardized the existing hierarchical system of social relations and refused to see tango as a national cultural product.

food is also a powerful cultural symbol. Argentines sometimes use the expression "she or he is more Argentine thandulce de leche." Dulce de leche is a milk-and-sugar spread used in a manner similar to peanut butter in the United States. It appears on toast, pastries, and various confections. Argentineasado, a barbecue that is part of the gaucho heritage, is still one of the most important meals in the Argentine diet. Like football, it is a strongly gendered cultural symbol, associated with manliness. Shopping for beef, sausages, and other animal parts that go into a barbecue, as well as the cooking itself, is a male activity. Asados are an important part of Argentine socializing on any occasion.

Certain men and women stand as undeniable national icons. Historical figures, sportsmen and sportswomen, politicians, and intellectuals contribute to a common identity. Who best represents or plays a role in shaping who Argentines are and had been is a highly contested issue. Several men and women are important in the development ofargentinidad.However, there would be no agreement on whether they positively or negatively fostered the rise of some kind of national consciousness.

José de San Martín is probably the least controversial of many Argentine icons. Seen as liberator of the Americas in the nineteenth century, he stands as a moral model to be emulated. Some Argentines use him to represent how they would like to think of themselves vis-a-vis other Latin American nations: as messengers of modernity and freedom, without personal or national ambitions of domination. Juan Manuel de Rosas, a landowner from Buenos Aires province, who came to rule Buenos Aires province for almost thirty years and represents the interests of the provinces before Argentina became unified as a nation, is a good example of the schisms in the process of nation building. Derided by the liberal, modernizing, and urban-oriented sectors of society who regarded him as a tyrant who deliberately kept the masses ignorant, he was an idol for the traditionalists who saw him as and adamant defender of national sovereignty against imperial ambitions. While Rosas was at the center of the disputes around the fate of Argentina in the nineteenth century, Juan Domingo Perón, was the focus of impassioned divisions among Argentines during the last half of the twentieth century.

Argentine cuisine may be described as a cultural blending of Indigenous, Mediterranean influences (such as those created by Italian and Spanish populations) within the wide scope of agricultural products that are abundant in the country. Argentine annual consumption of beef has averaged 100 kg (220 lbs) per capita,^[1] approaching 180 kg (396 lbs) per capita during the 19th century; consumption averaged 67.7 kg (149 lbs) in 2007.^[2] Beyond asado (the Argentine barbecue), no other dish more genuinely matches the national identity. Nevertheless, the country's vast area, and its cultural diversity, have led to a local cuisine of various dishes.^[3][4] The great immigratory waves consequently imprinted a large influence in the Argentine cuisine, after all Argentina was the second country in the world with the most immigrants with 6.6 million, only second to the United States with 27 million, and ahead of other immigratory receptor countries such as Canada, Brazil, Australia, etc.

Choosing a restaurant name is as important as deciding what type of food you are going to serve. A good restaurant name is easy to remember and easy to spell. It may reflect your restaurant’s theme, its location or simply be a play on words. The important thing to consider when choosing a restaurant name is the impression it will leave on customers.

Naming a Restaurant After a Location

Often times naming a restaurant is simple. The owners take a cue from their restaurant’s location. For example, our restaurant is located in the former boiler room of an old New England shoe factory. Because of this historic link, we decided to call the restaurant simply The Boiler Room Restaurant. It is easy to remember and most of the locals know that it refers to the old shoe shop. Tourist’s passing through love that is was once part of an old factory.
The French Laundry, in Napa Valley, California is one of the countries most esteemed restaurants. Its name stems from the fact the restaurant building once housed a French steam laundry during the 19th century.

The building was also once a brothel, but the restaurant owners wisely stayed away from incorporating that name.

Reflecting a Theme in a Restaurant Name

Choosing a restaurant name can also come from a theme or menu. Chinese restaurants do this perfectly, with names like Jade Palace, Fortune Fountain, and The New Great Wall. Each of these restaurant names let customers know that they serve Chinese food. Avoid calling your restaurant an ethnic name if you are serving a different type of menu. For example, if you are serving authentic Mexican food, calling the restaurant Giovanni’s will confuse your patrons, who may think you serve Italian food.

Adding a Personal Meaning to a Restaurant Name

Opening a restaurant is like having another child in many ways. Sometimes a restaurants name is a reflection of the owner’s name or someone dear to them. Wendy’s founder, Dave Thomas, named his restaurant concept after his daughter. Perhaps your grandmother influenced your joy of cooking, so you might name your restaurant after her. What ever the meaning behind your restaurant’s name, be prepared to share it with the public, who love a good story.

Restaurant Name With a Play On Words

Paula Deen’s first restaurant business was called The Bag Lady, because she and her sons went around delivering bagged lunches to local businesses. This is a great example of playing with words. Fun restaurant names that have nothing to do with food are usually easy to remember, and pass on by word of mouth. Celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck called his earliest restaurant Spago, (Italian slang for spaghetti.) Little in the name would tell you that it serves a fusion of Mediterranean and California cuisine, with a specialty in wood-fired pizzas. It’s just a great restaurant name.

Research

Luxury Logo Design (and the inspiration behind them)
This research will give me an idea of how to approach my logo design, and what sort of themes I should try to represent with it.

 While we traditionally think of Medusa’s head as something unappealing, it is in fact her transformation into a beast by Athena that was at the heart of Gianni Versace’s intentions when he created the logo in 1978. The Medusa emblem picked up by Versace became an iconic motif in fashion as it evoked sheer authority, attractiveness and fatal fascination; three basic attributes of Medusa. “When I asked Gianni why he chose Medusa’s head,” Donatella Versace later said, “he told me he thought that whoever falls in love with Medusa can’t flee from her.”

 Adolphe Jean-Marie Mouron or simply Cassandre – a Ukrainian-French painter, commercial poster artist and typeface designer – created the YSL logo in December 1961 only a few years before his suicide. As some have put it, “The challenge [was] in how Cassandre dared to break the unwritten rule of not mixing – in the same word – two typeface features that are, in principle, incompatible.

 The Spirit of Ecstasy – also referred to as “Emily,” “Silver Lady” or “Flying Lady –  was designed by English sculptor Charles Robinson Sykes and meant to discreetly tell the story of the secret passion held between John Walter Edward Douglas-Scott-Montagu, (second Lord Montagu of Beaulieu and automotive pioneer) and his love for Eleanor Velasco Thornton who served as the model.

Hermès began as a small harness workshop in Paris, which was dedicated to serving European noblemen and creating luxury harnesses and bridles for horse-drawn carriages. The Hermès logo is a royal carriage and a horse – and uses a slightly modified form of the Memphis typeface which was originally designed by Dr. Rudolf Wolf in 1929.

The Chanel logo was designed by Coco Chanel herself in 1925 and remains unchanged to this day. A popular story suggests that it was inspired by the stained glass windows in an Aubazine chapel which featured interlaced curves and also housed an orphanage where Chanel spent the latter half of her childhood.

Another legend says that Coco Chanel saw the interlocking Cs at Château Crémat, a château in Nice that Irène Bretz – a friend of Chanel – had purchased. As the story goes, “One summer night Coco Chanel looked up at a vaulted arch at one of Irène’s famous parties and found inspiration in a Renaissance medallion: two interlocking Cs.”

A final anecdote focuses on Boy Capel – the love of Chanel’s life and the source of funding for her business and her first boutiques. As writer Justine Picardie insinuates following Capel’s death, “There was no business contract to bind them together, just as there was no marriage certificate, but it nonetheless joined them, as the double C logo seems to suggest; Chanel and Capel; overlapping, but also facing away from each other.”

The Maserati Brothers took inspiration from the statue of Neptune that sat in the square in Bologna, Italy where Maserati was originally headquartered. While Mario Maserati, an artist, was responsible for the original logo, he would never work on any designs relating to engineering or automobiles.

 While Prada chooses to solely use their name for most branding, they do in fact have an emblem with a rich history. The classic rope design that aligns the periphery comes from when the Italian house were appointed as the official suppliers to the Italian Royal Household in 1919 – thus allowing them to use the House of Savoy’s coat of arms.

 The Louis Vuitton monogram was first introduced in 1896 and created by Louis’ son, Georges Vuitton. Described as a “Japanese-inspired flower motif,” the monogram’s original purpose was to thwart the counterfeiting of the Parisian company’s designer luggage and is one of the earliest examples of fashion branding. The pattern of alternating brown and beige squares was known as Damier (French for checkerboard).

 The ubiquitous signature is in fact, not Paul Smith’s own signature. Rather, it was drawn by Zena Marsh, a friend of Smith’s who created it in the early ’70s while working at his hometown shop on Nottingham Byard Lane. The signature logo “was never intended to be anything other than a mark,” says Alan Aboud, principal, creative director of Aboud Creative. “It’s a tremendously tricky device to use. It works small and discreet, or massive; any kind of middle ground just looks a bit awkward. It’s only with experience that you know how big it should be or how small it should be.” The hand-drawn logo was tightened up a little in the early 1980s when Smith opened his first shop in London.

The Rolex emblem is an extension of the company’s slogan of “A Crown for Every Achievement” which has been used since the brand’s inception in 1903. For founders Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis, the crown represented prestige, victory and perfectionism.

Although too relaxed and casual for my establishment, The colour scheme and graphics here work well together. The main logo works well with or without the added flair.

When thinking about my designs, I am trying to paint a picture in my head of what the restaurant itself would look like. This helps me decide whether the work I am producing will be suitable for the restaurant. 

Illustrations could be used as I definitely don't want to use photographs as I feel that they cheapen the aesthetic.

Simple wordmark seems most appropriate- It feels confident and classy with the correct type choice

Dark rich colours with white type on-top elevate a spread- the type shouldn't be too large that it shouts at the reader, but large enough that it speaks confidently.

The use of illustrations cheapens the aesthetic, as does having the signs hung rather than mounted. I also think that the small plants are too basic and simple- no plants at all or something more intricate such as bonsai's would be more interesting.

String bound menus look great when done properly. If I were to use this technique with La Parrilla, I would need to use a black string to match the colour scheme, with a thick ropey texture to suggest authenticity and hand-craftmanship. 

I find circular coasters to be much nicer than square- you don't have to worry about aligning them to other things and I believe the look more relaxed thanks to not having any corners. Black and White coasters like these look visually interesting with the custom symbols; to make them look more high end and appropriate for La Parrilla, less detailing should be done- only 1 ring would suffice. 

I like simple graphic design like this for restaurants, although this menu type would be inappropriate due to the number of items on the menu, and that a simple clip doesn't look luxurious enough. A leather wrap or wooden cover would be more appropriate. 

Simple menu designs like this (no illustrations or photographs) look great.

The bar could use lighting like this to create a visually exciting environment for customers to get a drink before they get seated. Interesting visuals in the first part of a restaurant are perfect conversation starts for dates.

The illustrations here are fantastic and don't make the design look cheaper thanks to the colour being only slightly different than the background, making them an elegant piece of detail rather than a stand out piece of design. The foiling on the packaging also elevates the design as it shows craftmansship and the shiny material connotates elegance and luxury.

Photographs here have been used very well to display authenticity by showing the food at an earlier stage. This is an interesting tactic which makes the venue look more transparent and trustworthy. It does however prevent the restaurant from looking luxurious as it's almost impossible to make food look high-end at this stage. 

This logo thanks to it's shape is sturdy and looks reliable and professional. I will need to consider shape heavily and how it changes what my logo communicates. 

White space usage here generates a laid back and calm aesthetic along with the thin line weight. 

Loose disposable menus are far too cheap for La Parrilla- the menus that I produce must look like they would last forever- even though they would be changed in and out regularly when dirty or when specials change etc. Having the menus covers made of a material that is easy to clean or cheap to replace will also be important. 

I love this elegant but bold use of typography, incorporating the pattern into the type itself. This pattern can then be used through-out the materials. I will need to do something similar to this, or have a secondary logo which I can use for pattern work and decoration.

I love this binding method and grained stock choice by Bovino. the gold metal looks precious and the stock looks hand-crafted and gives a brilliant effect onto the printed type, making it look traditional and slightly dated. 

A pattern produced from the logo or related to the logo helps to decorate print media, so this should be considered when producing the logo.

Stamps give a handmade feel and make the work more personal

Things like bulldog clips and trendy typography are too casual for La Parrilla, so a more intricate binding method and typographic style will need to be utilized.

This advert for Zizzi is exactly what I am trying to stay away from. 

Elegant flourishes like this look superb- if it fits my theme, I could create flourishes like this based around argentinian themes and culture.

Again this sort of scene is what I am trying to avoid, the american style booths and a bad logo painted on the wall, nothing about this scene suggestst elegance.

Black and White with select use of colour looks elegant and refined.  I believe I will keep my colour scheme black and white, or a charcoal grey with a bone white for conceptual relevance to meat.

Here a dark blue looks classy, with illustrations that look like they belong on an expensive china plate.

High Quality illustrations like this would look great, but would mean collaborating with an illustrator- This would take a lot of time which I am somewhat uncomfortable with at this stage. 

I should stay away from typical spanish/argentinian designs like this, that overuse colour and handdrawn type.

This is much classier with the gold and black colour theme, the website having far more structure and less type making it look far more beautiful.

Gaucho have also excelled with their website, using extremely select areas of colour, with elegant black and white photography of Argentina which makes the restaurant feel authentic 

I love this branding but it relies heavily on colour which I don't want mine to do. I will need to make sure the use of type and layout communicate high-end dining.

Menu Research
A leather bound menu would be very fitting given that the restaurant would be a steak house. The stock would be a thick slightly textured paper/card in bone white again following the meat theme.
From personal experience in a wide range of restaurants, I believe that a high quality menu is very important to the dining experience. Tall thin menus look the classiest I believe, whilst wider menus tend to look cheap. Materials are extremely important, as is typeface choice and imagery. High quality black and white illustrations or line drawings look great, whilst photographs almost always cheapen the menu.

A wooden menu is also nice, thinking about a natural feel which would certainly be kept throughout the restaurant interior. it would also be easier to maintain.

My first idea was 'Barbacoa' for the name, simply meaning barbecue, the b using one of the lightrays from the argentinian flag's 'sun of may'. I chose Bembo at first for it's elegant style and hard edges which look carved by hand.

I rushed some stationary to see how it would look, using the sun of may's face as a secondary logo. I didn't take nearly enough time thinking about the logo properly, so I went back to the drawing board.

I had a lengthy conversation with Tom Houghton, who also was branding a restaurant. We broke down what we wanted our restaurants to communicate, thinking of a manifesto for each of them. Authenticity was top of the chain, along with meat and barbecuing, and Argentinian cuisine. Doing everything by hand (no machinery) is important in Argentine cuisine, so I thought about hand-rendered type (but not a handwritten style, as I learned how bad it looked during visual research). Which led me to Butler, the typeface I would later use in Montage, albeit in a different weight). I then rethought the name, as Barbacoa was too common. La Parrilla was my second choice, so I started to run with that. 

I thought about how things could look inside the restaurant. I had an idea where half burnt matches would be stuck into wood to form the restaurant's name as an installation which would sit behind the bar or on a wall.

I tested a range of different sans-serif typefaces which would be used through-out the menus. I only wanted to use 1 typeface for it all, so the different weights must work well together. I ended up choosing Calibre (second test down). Its letterforms look formal without looking corporate, whist the thinner weights look elegant and easy to read. It has a strength to it with it's fully finished terminals that make it look confident but relaxed at the same time. 

The final logo uses the stencil version of Butler, reminiscent of old spray-painted barrels and boxes found in Argentinian markets. 

The website design is clean, using colourful photographs on a black and white background, inspired by the Gaucho website. I used gold to decorate the website on the seperators and sliders, as well as the text boxes and price illustrations. It's simple scrolling design makes it easy to use for anyone.

I visited Latitude (Wine Retailers in Leeds) to research wine bottle design.  I looked at bottle shape, materials, label shape and style, as well as typography and use of images.

The gold foiling really elevates the wine bottle, the shine giving it an extra element of visual depth. 

A select of use colour with a traditional style illustration communicates expense and quality, given that aged wines are usually more expensive. 

The menu designs set the mood with a brief intro to Argentinian Cuisine and Drinks, before going into the minimalistic layout of food. I used a contrast of weight of separate the dish names and the descriptions. A simple dotted like is used to separate the titles and add some decoration. I didn't use a £ sign, as during my research I came across an article (http://www.stuffyoushouldknow.com/blog/dollar-sign-menu-explained/) which explains that ''“The dollar sign is a symbol of cost, not gain.” When we see it, apparently some part of our brain is activated and driven to protect our money by figuring out how to get around it.''
This is also the reason why casinos give you chips rather than letting you use cash. Because this is a high price range restaurant, I removed the pound signs, removing that issue of the customer being weary of spending large sums of cash. 

The menu using a wood of leather bind would be conceptually relevant, look good and keep the menu in good condition all day.

Items like these could be spread through-out the restaurant, giving an old, trustworthy and authentic feel.

I redesigned the business cards to make them look more professional, using a recycled stock and letterpressed type for a personal feel. The sun of may sits in the corner for a small decorative touch, with charcoal grey edges to make the cards look like they have a barbecued sear.

A small refinement by making the sun of may slightly larger, and adding slightly more leading to the address type.

I designed a house wine bottle, which uses a black opaque shiny glass, with a matte finish label- the contrasting materials give a classy and sleek aesthetic. A simple Oblique version of Calibre is used for the wine type, with a regular thin Calibre for the bottle description. Again the sun of may is used to add some decoration to the bottle.

I elevated the design slightly by having the seperators and the sun of may's in a gold foil. This makes the bottle feel even more luxurious, perfect for a date. 

Menu design alteration: after looking at various materials at the fabric shop, I realised that black leather instead of brown would be more appropriate as my logo is black, and it runs with the concept of charcoal grilling better. Black is also a more sophisticated colour and less likely to clash with any interior design decisions. 

I purchased a 2m x 0.5m section of black dyed cow leather, which I cut down to size with a sharp stanley knife and metal ruler to ensure a clean straight edge with minimal fraying. I contemplated having the edges with a large amount of fray to make them look more raw and natural but I thought that in a dining setting it could cause complications.