ISTD / Re-writing the brief / Crit

The Brief

To create a restaurant identity (influenced by typography's structural format & the manipulation of type) that permeates through its environment. When considering your designs, take into account the growing fashion of Healthy eating and how each part of your designs could be applied to each different aspect of the restaurant.

Overall; Create an identity & ethos through visual communication for the brand title; Mutton Quad.

Think about a contemporary dining style that's environmentally friendly. Possible direction: Minimal, Old English style with a modern adaptation.

Target Audience; 

I'll be aiming the branding & identity at the modern generation who have stronger implications to care about their environment and what they're eating, focusing my approach around locally, organically sourced food. 20-40 year olds.

Considerations;

The appealing thing about going to restaurants is that your paying for a service, not just a product! The attitude, aesthetics and mood of the environment will determine the type of content I'm producing.

Consider juxtaposition and translating messages and concepts in the most creative and simplest (face-value) solutions as possible.

Background

Demonstrate an understanding of typography with an appropriate investigation into the use of print/ screen and digital media. Design across a range of media and consider the outcomes of combining different mediums.

Tone of voice

Refined & cultured. With a focus on locally sourced ingredients. Large focus on visuals. 

Deliverables;

Branding inc...

Menu design
Interior designs
Exterior designs
Promotional products - Website design/ Print based materials
2 x Proposals

Mandatory Requirements

In-depth investigation and blogging of research 
Visual mock-ups. 
Presentation (Printed deliverables)
Primary and secondary research that exploit a clear understanding of my chosen context.

We were placed in groups of 6 and after presenting my direction and design ideas I felt like I was heading in the right direction, the core concept of combining the anatomy of type with the anatomy of locally sourced ingredients went down well, my peers also gave me some pointers on how to further develop this idea by including brief stories behind the ingredients and providing information regarding to what parts of an animal are used...e.g. Where a t-bone steak is taken from and where a rump steak is taken from etc.

Pitch feedback - 

• Anatomy of type and the comparison with food preparation is a very interesting concept
• Define it down a bit more but you've got a solid idea already
• Thought about background of restaurant to inform the designs. Link between anatomies works
• You mention the environment, this needs to come across in the aesthetics, will you recycle anything to make the restaurant more eco? Mix of modern and traditional will work well
• Look at some Noma Bar type experiments - Where he makes typefaces look like images - In the restaurant you could have a menu made entirely out of type, modified to look like food?
• The type anatomy idea is an interesting idea to work with
• Maybe you should figure out a specific target audience? Think about the location of the restaurant.

5 things you don't know about your content...

• Has the anatomy of food and type been combined and used in a restaurant environment before?
• All the different aspects that make up a restaurants identity, e.g. menu's, drink mats, Point of sale displays, exterior, interior, branding...what else is there?
• How I'm going to combine the content with food and type appropriately to fit with the theme of my restaurant
• What's more attractive to most consumers... the restaurants ethos or the restaurants identity?
• What colour schemes would be more appropriate than others?
• Are there any websites that promote locally sourced restaurants?

5 ways the audience may interact with or come into contact with your work...

• Through its context
• Technology, develop proposals for a website and other social websites such as; Twitter, Behance etc, this would hopefully create a buzz online, especially if there was some form of a countdown relating to the restaurants opening times. Made more appealing by a special appearance? Could be quite interesting if I took a completely different approach and instead of using a local celebrity etc, use an animal?
• Through Point of sale displays, signage/ Promotion within a 100m radius of the establishment.
• Advertisements - Posters, Flyers
• Tasting campaign - showcasing the informative, comfortable and tasteful approach the restaurants  developed

5 problems that need solving & WHY they need solving?

• The sort of design approach I'll be pursuing - Will I be using hand rendered illustrations to exploit one's anatomy or digital media? The 'style' of the designs will have a huge impact on the mood of the restaurant, if something looks solely digital it takes away the traditional, calming feel of the restaurant
• Is the title 'Mutton Quad' viable for its contents or could there be a more out-standing title that reflects the business's identity better? I need to solve this almost instantly before I start designing anything, if I don't the communication of my designs could become shrouded and mis-interpreted
• Will the main focus be on type or illustration?
• AM I ALLOWED TO ALTER THE BRIEF SO THAT TYPE ISN'T THE MAIN FEATURE? I really need to figure this out because this will obviously determine my approach.
• I need to know what are the most comfortable features of a restaurant? if the consumer feels uncomfortable asking for things or sitting in the chairs, it will totally ruin their experience.