PROJECT DETAILS
Timeline
Standard
Role
Design and collaborative execution
Context
eatsa was a restaurant focused tech company on a mission to bring affordable healthy food to all. At least that's how it started. eatsa opened a series of restaurants across the west and east coast, shining bright with an array of cubbies, status boards, menu boards and kiosks. The brand understandably was very focused on restaurant stylings. Futuristic technology was warmed up by natural wood tones and the brand had bright red everywhere, one of the most appetite stimulating colors. Red being the main brand color felt right, and represented the eatsa mission an excitement well.
As it goes with many tech companies, pivot after pivot came and eatsa decided it was time for a rebrand. We shifted to selling our technology to others, and wanted to support both our restaurants as well as our tech offerings. When focused on technology, the brand started to become watered down, so we began the long journey of a rebrand, starting with the color palette.
THE ASK
We need a new brand that will reflect the styling and beliefs of our technology as well as our restaurants.
I was asked to lead design efforts rebranding with color at first, and later a full name and company switch. I worked to help define illustration styles, color, typography, voice and tone, and explore what various applications might look like. The first step was color. We wanted a palette that supported and matched the restaurant side, and helped accentuate our tech offerings as well. We chose a base deep blue and green as anchoring colors between the two brands, and split dominant colors between restaurants and tech. This allowed for a cohesive system that would always play well together, while allowing for each part of the company to have a unique brand style. The restaurant palette was a bit more natural, looked good with food, and was an iterative evolution from what existed before. We focused on colors that pull from nature and food to stay grounded in an appetizing palette. For the technology side, we focused on futuristic colors as portrayed in film and media. Neon blues, pinks and purples all helped bring the brand more tech centric while still supported the base system we had built. But while that was the first step, this project isn't only about color.
No items found.
THE PROCESS
After working on telling the story of color and it's relationship to the company, we worked with an outside agency for naming and initial mark. I was provided with the word mark with the idea of connected the O's together to make a mark that we later called the loom. I was put in charge of exploring far and wide different visual styles that would bring a refined excitement to our presentations, marketing, office and all things brand related. We explored patterns, illustration styles, scale variations and motion assets. I worked closely with our head of marketing, head of design, and the broader leadership team to bring people along the way and help everyone own the story and give input on how we were going to present ourselves to the world.
No items found.
THE REFINEMENT
The original loom mark needed to be tweaked to feel more balanced. We put up posters around the office that celebrated our new company principles. We put together swag, large scale office installations, pitch decks, stickers, tech assets and more. It was amazing not only to see the work all come together, but to see how well received it was by the company. Many were skeptical of some of the choices at first, but simply telling the story and sharing the thought behind it had employees feeling proud to wear and represent our company as the next evolution of our startup.
No items found.
