How could I elevate your brand?

As a frequent customer of Rockitacos, Carlyn saw a need for improvement in regard to the original menus legibility and the company's brand identity. Throughout the next slides, Carlyn demonstrates the process she took to redesign the day and night menus for rockitacos, while simultaneously testing out the aesthetics of a possible brand identity.

ABOUT

Business Brand Redesign.

I was given significant creative freedom for Rob’s restaurant rebranding, which drew inspiration from his Mexican heritage, the "El Luchador" concept, and the aesthetic of Quentin Tarantino’s Mexican Westerns. Rob shared that "El Luchador" not only reflected his cultural background but also symbolized his son, Junior. However, we had to modify the character to avoid legal issues with a trademarked figure they had used before. I decided to switch from the Old English font Rob originally liked to a modern sans serif typeface to reflect the restaurant's contemporary take on traditional Mexican cuisine.

To distinguish the day and night menus, I used light and dark color schemes while staying within the color palette I developed. I also added lighting effects to icons and the logo for a neon sign look. Finally, I incorporated shadowing and textured details to give the design depth and a worn paper aesthetic.

PROCESS

These are the original menus displayed in a Carthage Student Union Kitchen front.

These are the original menus displayed in a Carthage Student Union Kitchen front.

For the rebranding, Rob gave Carlyn a significant amount of creative freedom. Keeping in mind “El Luchador”, Mexican Quentin Tarantino Westerns’, his family’s Mexican heritage, and the restaurant where he took his wife on their first date, she search

For the rebranding, Rob gave Carlyn a significant amount of creative freedom. Keeping in mind “El Luchador”, Mexican Quentin Tarantino Westerns’, his family’s Mexican heritage, and the restaurant where he took his wife on their first date, she searched for inspirational images. On a moodboard, she compiled colors, images, and font choices that supported a variety of aspects of Rob’s vision.

While Carlyn learned about Rob’s business, he communicated the influence of his Mexican heritage on his business. Thus, she reworked the iconography of "El Luchador," which means wrestler in Spanish, to pay homage to his family's Mexican culture. Not

While Carlyn learned about Rob’s business, he communicated the influence of his Mexican heritage on his business. Thus, she reworked the iconography of "El Luchador," which means wrestler in Spanish, to pay homage to his family's Mexican culture. Not only did it tie to heritage, but Rob informed Carlyn that el Luchador represented his youngest son Junior. Previously, he had a similar wrestling character from a cartoon that was trademarked. Continuing to use that character could have caused foreseen legal issues in the future. In general, he chose to use an Old English font in his logo to appeal to Quentin Tarantino's Mexican Westerns.

Carlyn felt that a San serif typeface would complement the logo instead of the original typeface, which was a handwritten aesthetic. San serif typefaces gained prominence in contemporary culture. Thus, using san serif typefaces symbolizes the modern

Carlyn felt that a San serif typeface would complement the logo instead of the original typeface, which was a handwritten aesthetic. San serif typefaces gained prominence in contemporary culture. Thus, using san serif typefaces symbolizes the modern twist that rockitacos takes on traditional Mexican food.

To represent the difference between the day and night menus, Carlyn replaced the light with dark colors on the main elements of the design, using the original color palette she developed. She created lighting effects on icons and the logo to represen

To represent the difference between the day and night menus, Carlyn replaced the light with dark colors on the main elements of the design, using the original color palette she developed. She created lighting effects on icons and the logo to represent a neon sign aesthetic. Lastly, she incorporated finishing touches such as shadowing and textures to create the illusion of depth and worn paper.

The menus were designed for 50 TVs that were displayed as menus in the front of an industrial food counter. Unfortunately, due to communication issues, the menus were unable to be displayed in the established location. However, Carlyn finished the me

The menus were designed for 50 TVs that were displayed as menus in the front of an industrial food counter. Unfortunately, due to communication issues, the menus were unable to be displayed in the established location. However, Carlyn finished the menu since she wanted to see it through.

Here is a hypothetical mockup of what the day menus would look like for their intended purpose, as a digital menu for a restaurant's kitchen.

Here is a hypothetical mockup of what the day menus would look like for their intended purpose, as a digital menu for a restaurant's kitchen.

Here is a hypothetical mockup of what the night menus would look like for their intended purpose, as a digital menu for a restaurant's kitchen.

Here is a hypothetical mockup of what the night menus would look like for their intended purpose, as a digital menu for a restaurant's kitchen.