SOUTHERN
CHARM
KITCHEN
Southern Charm Kitchen is a Gainesville staple that serves country soul food cuisine. The atmosphere is very laid back and eclectic, with a bright red accent wall, hanging antiques, and a counter filled with craft beer. Inspired by the food and restaurant atmosphere, I rebranded S.C.K. to be comforting, eye-catching, and a little bit funky. Drawing upon this, I knew I had to incorporate the warm reds and browns of the decor and add vintage-inspired elements within the menu.
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INSPIRATION
& DESIGN PROCESS
For this project, I was inspired by the culture and emotion of "Soul Food." Growing up in Southern culture, food was always an important part of any family gathering or social event. Eating was an experience, not just a consuming a meal.
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To illustrate this, I chose imagery that is iconic in Southern culture such as sweet potatoes, sweet tea, and grandma's cast iron pan to emotionally connect the diners to the food. I was inspired by artwork that uses color and handdrawn designs because these elements represent the idea that everything is hand-made and crafted with care—the overarching theme in Southern cuisine.
RE-BRANDING
CHALLENGE
The biggest challenge for this project was re-branding from their old design aesthetic. Neither of their previous logos or old menu were visually appealing nor did they represent the culture and cuisine of the restaurant. My goal for this restaurant was to create a branding system that visually portrayed the restaurant while also being relatable and captures people’s attention.
PREVIOUS LOGOTYPES
PREVIOUS MENU
LOGO 1 PROBLEMS: concept has no aesthetic or cultural value, outdated black stroke, basic font with bad text hierarchy; uninteresting colors.
LOGO 2 PROBLEMS: no aesthetic or cultural value, busy, actual logo is too small on illustration, clip art look doesn’t reflect restaurant, it isn’t charming or southern.
MENU PROBLEMS: very low-budget, more clip-art that does not reflect the restaurant, typography is unclear and there are multiple typefaces used at once, no color or imagery to evoke emotion.
