Restaurant Branding

The Birth of a Café: The Journey from Concept to Opening Part 1

admin — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 20:42:13 +0000

To give a better understanding to consumers of the vast creative capabilities a conceptual branding studio possesses, like Tasty Concepts, I wanted to write about our involvement in the journey of a new restaurant, from conception to grand opening. I decided one of the best, and easiest, restaurant concepts to profile during its progression would be the new café going in below our studio here in Georgetown — Puro Café, which is slated to open early October.

Part 1: Concept Inspiration, Logo Design, and Look & Feel

When initially deciding upon the concept, the owner of the café , and friend of Tasty Concepts, came to us to create a dynamic concept and bring it to reality. Roberto, Creative Director at TC, toyed with the idea of doing an all black or all white themed restaurant. Although the black concept was first decided upon, the concept quickly switched to a sleek, white concept after working on a project for The Ritz-Carlton in South Beach. The idea of an all white, chic, café oasis in Georgetown seemed very appealing to the café’s owner and the design team at Tasty. Originally “White House”, a nice play on DC’s main notoriety and the color concept, was a name considered, but after some further research and development by the design team, the concept of purity became one of interest and therefore a forerunner. Several translations of “pure” were researched, and in the end, the Spanish and Italian translation was chosen. Thus, Puro Café was born.

After finally nailing down the name, the logo design process began. The owner decided to draw upon he and his wife’s Moroccan heritage. Several ideas were gathered for inspiration, yet a particular design seemed to catch the eye of the Tasty team while summing up the new inspiration behind Puro best — a Moroccan pillow with a simple, and perhaps pure, embroidered graphic design. The designers took this inspiration, transforming it into the current logo seen above.

From there, the look and feel was developed. With white being the main color, and some touches of gold, a clean, fresh, and chic feeling evolved. But after some preliminary conceptual drawings, the designers realized that using only these colors would wash out the curb appeal of the building and signage. Further research into Moroccan travel and food books prevalently showed the use of a vibrant red hue, which gave way to the use of it as a third color in the logo to create a visual pop. The look and feel of the café will mirror this design aesthetic with clean, white furnishings and small red and gold accents.

With this fundamental branding identity in place, the renovation of the space, design of a mural, and the creation of exterior signage began. Stayed tune to read and see more…..

Future of Branding Through Social Networking

admin — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 16:22:46 +0000

Social Media Revolution

Tasty Concepts in Washington Business Journal

admin — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 17:30:49 +0000

Washington Business Journal: Roberto Sablayrolles helps restaurants beautify their images

Tasty Concepts Featured in Madrid Magazine

admin — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 16:51:31 +0000

In the most recent edition of Restauracion News, a Madrid-based hospitality design & business magazine, Tasty Concepts’ Madrid Art Director, Maximiliano Sablayrolles, is interviewed on cost-effective design trends in the hospitality industry. He says that Tasty Concepts’ design approach and flexible fees can be very beneficial to businessmen during this economic crisis. Maximiliano goes on to say that it is a great time for existing companies to re-structure and re-brand their existing style and design instead of creating new concepts that can become costly. An example of such approach is the re-design and branding of Vitamina, a heath food and juice fast food restaurant concept, from an over-the-top brightly colored Brazilian aesthetic to a more streamlined and chic style that is congruent with today’s trends. Adaptation is the key to surviving this economic crisis, and Tasty Concepts has become a fore-runner in the hospitality industry by providing more unique and successful solutions than problems, which could arise by using designer that lack their kind of experience and background. Maximiliano concludes by saying that choosing an experienced design firm that specializes in this industry, like TC, can be extremely beneficial in your business’ resiliency through the use of new marketing and branding design tactics.

Read and see more - English Translation: Restauracion News

Washington Business Journal Interview

admin — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:09:43 +0000

Washington Business Journal Interview

Controversial news in the branding world

admin — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 13:53:48 +0000

Will this development help or hinder the cyber market?

Some argue it will decrease the price of domains and personalize the market, while others suggest it will only confused consumers more.

Read Brand Republic’s article to decide for yourself: http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/news/913368/Marketers-consumers-wary-new-brand-web-domain-names/

Meeting Chef Ripert

admin — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:59:32 +0000

One of the many fine chefs that we at TC have had the pleasure to work with is 3 Star Michelin Chef Eric Ripert. With owning three restaurants: Le Bernardin in NY, Westend Bistro in DC, and 10 Arts in Chicago, writing books, and making appearance on the Food Network, Chef Ripert lives quite a fantastic and busy life. Yet, he found time in his crazy schedule to make an appearance last Tuesday here in DC at The Ritz-Carlton’s affiliate restaurant, Westend Bistro, to promote his latest book, On The Line. For being quite the culinary celebrity, Ripert was a joy to meet. He was warm and friendly to all who showed up to see him and dine at his restaurant. I even had a brief opportunity to snap a photo with him!

TC’s previous work with Chef Ripert on Westend Bistro and 10 Arts included branding & logo design, identification package, menu systems, and website design. See our designs at: www.westendbistrodc.com and www.10arts.com

Design changes for a fast food nation

admin — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:51:57 +0000

As the economy continues to be on the rocks, still no one confident in the direction it will be moving anytime soon, more and more Americans are finding themselves stopping at the local fast food joint, instead of dining-out at family style and high-end cuisine restaurants. Everyday we are inundated with TV commercials promoting the latest and greatest “dollar menu item” from fast food chains across the nation. Hard times call for sacrifices, and though our palettes may be craving more, our wallets are not.
With sales at an all time high for many chains, will this re-direction in the food world encourage a change in food chains’ appearance, style, and essentially brand to a more unique and never-before-seen style to continually entice and intrigue the influx of new customers?
For Alsea, the powerhouse behind chain operations of pizzas, burgers, chicken, Mexican restaurants, coffee shops, homemade breads and other foods, the idea that a fast food restaurant could still offer fast, economic meals to a mass public, yet with a more international and sleek appeal, is one they began experimenting with at their Burger King locations in Argentina and Chile. Thus, Alsea employed Tasty Concepts to create a fresh and innovative design for their new locations that still delivered the essence of the original Burger King. The new branding package included updated environmental designs and graphics, interior design, and collateral with an exotic flair yet still echoing the brand’s original roots.
Although many fast food chains have been successful in the past by continually changing their menu and prices, perhaps changing their image to a sleeker, more modern feel would be a much more effective and unique way to capture a broader audience, and not just nationally but internationally.
For their work with Alsea: Burger King, Tasty Concepts won a Graphic Design USA award