brand
Breakfast Republic
credit
photos courtesy of
Alternative Strategies
Alternative Strategies
when
2017-2019
scope
Branding Collateral
Menu Design
Custom Illustration
brief
Breakfast Republic started as one location in North Park, San Diego. The agency I worked for, Alternative Strategies, helped launch this brand from the ground up but I hopped on this project when the brand was in need of a refresh. The aim of BR’s branding has always been to display whimsy and incorporate many different elements. As the brand began to take off, it was apparent that Breakfast Republic’s branding needed a little more "oomph." Our team was tasked with taking what was existing and giving it a facelift and to create assets that were cleaner and most importantly, social media-worthy.
original menu
The first challenge of this menu was the amount of items it featured–lots of items meant lots of text. I identified what the current design accomplished (displaying all the menu items legibly while incorporating character into the section headers) and used that as a basis to improve upon. With so much content, it was a delicate balance of being able to incorporate enough playfulness and also keeping the menu functional and legible.
redesigned menu
My first mission was to free up as much space as possible so I chose fonts for the body copy that could be easily read at a smaller size. As for the headers, I found a font family that included different, stackable layers in order to create unique yet consistent headers for each menu section. The next step was to consolidate and format as much as possible before adding our elements and character back. I added in blocks and accents of 30% tint of the BR red as a way to add some more color and tie everything together—this was a way to add color while again, keep chaos to a minimum.
branding collateral
Part of BR's brand is being worthy of a social media share. Their expansive merch wall included custom BR-themed T-shirts, baseball caps, mugs, and even house-recipe hot sauce! The plate below features a custom illustration I did featuring the hands Breakfast Republic's owner, Johan Engman.
