Logo identity project for new San Jose, California-based smash burger joint. Art direction, Design, Layout. Tools: Adobe Creative Suite: Photoshop, Illustrator. Font selection: Campus Burger utilized a highly modified Leophard Bold.
The Client |
Jim Angelopolous is a Bay Area entrepreneur whose family’s roots are in the restaurant business. His parents opened Square Meal Cafe in San Martin, California and began a string of successful businesses that included Scrambl’z Diners. After selling the small chain of Scrambl’z restaurants, Jim saw a need for breakfast only restaurants thats served only from 7AM-2PM seven days a week. From there, Jim created Yolked!, a popular Morgan Hill-based breakfast restaurant that focused on healthy menu offerings. In 2023, Jim wanted to go the route of creating a tasty and affordable ($1.99) smash burger to be located near the San Jose State University campus and other locations in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The Solution |
The concept was simply to design a mark that would easily be appealing and recognizable to the collegiate masses. The journey started out a need for a “Coat of Arms” vibe but appeared complicated a brand direction, especially for signage and print materials. The COA was dropped and the word mark topped with the burger “bug” was tossed around for discussion and refinement. The new direction included adding buns and similar elements but resembled Burger King a bit too much. The final concept made for a more appealing and basic design that would translate to “simple tastes”. Channel signage, ad banners, menus, business cards, t-shirts, social media formats and other marketing tools were finalized to complete the package. Total design time: 6 months.
