Vigor

We did it! We raised $12k to publish The Bullhearted Brand. Thank you to everyone who pledged support. You are amazing!

Stay tuned for publishing dates and details!

IT'S THE LAST DAY to pledge support for The Bullhearted Brand on Kickstarter!

We only have a little bit more to raise to hit our goal. Check out the page for more details on why this book will help you design better restaurant brands and market them successfully.

We hope you choose to support!

Only 3 days left to pledge support for The Bullhearted Brand on Kickstarter!

We only have a little bit more to raise to hit our goal. Check out the page for more details on why this book will help you design better restaurant brands and market them successfully.

We hope you choose to support!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/szalapalooza/the-bullhearted-brand-building-bullish-restaurant-brands

The process.
Like most brand identities we do, everything starts on paper. From simple sketches meant to explore shape and form, we choose a few that show promise and start refining.

It's especially important with custom typography to get the proportions right so that the letters gel well together, evoke a certain kind of personality, and still maintain legibility, so multiple rounds of refinement are usually called for.

After more rounds of customer surveys, tweaking, and input from leadership, we arrived at the final iteration that eegee's has donned since April.

"Lipservice messaging and mindless donations simply are not enough to portray meaningful involvement."
-Joseph Szala

Our latest article is about digging deep and finding your brand's authenticity to navigate the social climate shifts we are experiencing.

Click the link below to read the full article:
https://vigorbranding.com/shut-up-and-put-up-how-to-build-authenticity-in-restaurant-brand-philanthropy/

Meet Natalie Suarez, one of our amazing designers. ⁠
⁠Here's a peek at one of her favorite projects, "I like that it's a great example of how we can translate the brand strategy across everything, not just the literal, physical designed pieces."⁠

Click below to see the full project with HQ:
https://vigorbranding.com/projects/hq-dallas-rooftop-bar-branding/

Fun Fact about Natalie: She may take too long at the liquor store because she's busy checking out all of the branding and packaging.

This past May, Joseph Szala, our Vigor Principle had the honor of participating in Pastry Arts Magazine's virtual summit on "Components for Building a Successful Brand." He had the honor of speaking alongside some of the most talented dessert professionals in the world.

Register for a FREE 4-DAY PASS at www.pastrysummit.com and login to have access to 60+ video demos, presentations, and interviews!

Learn more about the "Components for Building a Successful Brand" interview here: https://vigorbranding.com/pastry-arts-magazine-pastry-summit-is-open/

The final logo for Scratch Kitchen brought together all the disparate ideas of the unused directions we've shown you. Bright, sunny yellow is inviting and warm, carrying a lot of personality for a brand that only exists digitally. Simple line drawings reflect the simplicity of the ingredients, and their rustic nature suggests the organic origins of the food.
We did a lot fo Scratch Kitchen (informing, food photography and menu design to list a few services), and while that case study isn't ready just yet, we hope this sneak peek gets you excited for it.

Continuing our series of showing rejected directions for Scratch Kitchen, this second direction takes a... dare we say sharper angle. Using the quintessential chef's tool and incorporating it into the wordmark, the humble chef's knife becomes this direction's hero. Curving it slightly in secondary marks softens the look overall, and clean and sleek type suggest a brand on the cutting edge.

Recently we've had the pleasure of wrapping up a very unique kind of project. Scratch Kitchen, located in Boulder, CO, is what is known as a 'ghost kitchen'; that is, a restaurant that primarily serves its customers through third-party delivery as opposed to having a physical dining room. While this in of itself is a challenge, creating a brand that solely exists online, we additionally were tasked with creating a brand that positioned itself as a better-for-you alternative to most takeout. This brand, as well, had to serve as a parent brand to any additional subbrands that the client wanted to develop in the future.

We'll be showcasing over the next few days the rejected directions, leading up the grand reveal. This first direction focused on custom, friendly typography paired with painterly illustrations to portray an idea of the imperfect and unprocessed produce used by Scratch Kitchen.

There are so many questions for restaurateurs and brand managers in how they navigate and survive this pandemic. While no one has all the answers, we wanted to shine a light on how. Not "how" in the tactical sense but, instead, in the way brands approach their actions. ⁠
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In this article, penned by Vigor's brand strategist Aaron Tovi, we explore how restaurant brands should be taking action through the lens of their brand strategy and its Purpose.⁠
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Why? Because what you do today as a brand, will define how you're perceived tomorrow. If you do not live your values and your purpose during this difficult time, the believability of your claims decreases. The result is lost loyalty and a much slower recovery.⁠
⁠
Have a read and please do share.

https://vigorbranding.com/coming-out-of-covid-19-with-positive-brand-momentum/
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Nation's Restaurant News featured Vigor Principal, Joseph Szala this month in a piece that focused on the ways in which beverage-snack chains like Dunkin' are appealing to Millennials and Gen Z-ers during the first quarter of 2020. https://bit.ly/39ipqBd