VINTAGE CAFE

Building a cohesive brand identity and experience for a neighborhood restaurant.

Areas
Brand identity · Logo design · Packaging/menu design · Merch design

Tools
Illustrator · Photoshop · Procreate

Overview

Vintage Café is a neighborhood restaurant in the East Village that wanted a refreshed, cohesive brand system that felt modern but warm and approachable. My goal was to create a logo, supporting graphics, and menus that fit seamlessly into their environment — from the physical space to the take-home merchandise — while staying true to their personality.

My Role

Lead designer — handled all visual identity work, illustration, and production prep.

  • Designed a primary wordmark + secondary logo for flexible use

  • Created a menu system with clear hierarchy and brand-aligned typography

  • Illustrated a set of stickers and merch graphics that customers could take home

  • Delivered production-ready files for printing and fabrication

The Challenge

The café had an outdated logo and no consistent system across touchpoints. The menu design felt disconnected from the space, and there was no visual personality tying together coasters, matchbooks, or other collateral.

Research & Moodboarding — Studied café interiors, East Village neighborhood culture, and competitor brands to find a balance between vintage charm and modern usability.

  1. Logo Exploration — Sketched multiple wordmark concepts, refining toward a typographic solution with a playful but timeless feel.

  2. Menu Design — Structured a menu with clear sections and visual hierarchy, emphasizing readability in low-light settings.

  3. Collateral & Merch — Extended the system to matchbooks, coasters, and stickers to create a complete brand experience.

Final Deliverables

  • Primary logo + secondary lockup

  • Illustrated menu system (day + night menus)

  • Matchbook design

  • Coasters and sticker set

Reflection

This project taught me how to translate a brand personality across multiple physical touchpoints. The system gives Vintage Café a cohesive, recognizable look that feels intentional — whether customers are ordering, sitting down, or taking something home.