In 2010 Café Zupas had a handful of locations in the Salt Lake and Utah Valley area. They were preparing to grow quickly and introduce the fast-casual concept into new markets out of state. I was hired on as VP of marketing and began reworking all visual touchpoints of the brand. By 2016, the entire restaurant design from kitchen to dining room had been completely reworked. The logo, website, packaging, uniforms, even training materials and internal branding were all modernized and reconceptualized to communicate a forward-thinking message. 

RESTAURANT DESIGN

Each new building over the course of 6 years was rethought and improved. The result was more than new paint colors. Every aspect of the layout and materials were optimized to feel modern, add durability, and let the product take center stage.

LOGO REDESIGN

The idea of a logo redesign was worrisome to the owners at first. However, it was recognized that the old logo did not represent the modern feel they wanted to grow into as Café Zupas set out to become a national brand and market leader. A secondary smiling strawberry icon added variation and a nod to the chocolate-dipped strawberry every customer gets with their meal – a symbol of special occasions, and hand-made care. 

WEBSITE

The new website needed to be responsive, easy to update, and accommodate the growing number of locations across different states. One key objective was to communicate the house-made story and illustrate the care that goes into sourcing fresh ingredients and hand-making the dressings and soups on-location. This was accomplished through a minimalist layout, and strong use of photography to tell the stories.

PROMOTIONAL SIGNAGE

Our approach to promoting seasonal menu items was through more compelling imagery and fewer words. Gheen Hillman embraced the role as a food photographer, taking virtually all the marketing photos up to 2017.

BEFORE

PHOTO STORYTELLING

 Written explanations of quality-sourcing, painstaking recipe-development, and in-house meal preparation are easily ignored. Rather, we told these stories through photography. In addition to his roles as VP of Marketing, creative director, graphic designer, and department manager, Gheen was also the primary photographer and visual story-teller for Café Zupas.