Boardwalk
Brand Concept and Collateral
2023 | 2 months | Branding
Boardwalk is a concept for a modern, urban board game bar located in Vancouver, BC. The restaurant serves quality food and a variety of drinks for guests to enjoy as they connect with friends and strangers alike over dozens of hand-picked board games.
Context
At the end of our 4-year design program, we were tasked with creating a focused project in our desired medium or sector in order to demonstrate our skills and thinking. The scope, deliverables, and focus were all up to us, and the piece would also serve as an exercise in making quick design decisions, working under pressure, and delivering polished work in a short time frame.
While exploring potential concepts and markets, I found myself pivoting toward the hobby industry and the potential for a sophisticated, people-focused brand within that field. After researching various brands and business models, I decided to create branding for a board game bar targeted to urban young adults looking to connect with others in an environment that feels playful but upscale.
Branded Beer Glass Design
Method
After landing on my desired project, I began to further research the business model itself. Looking at existing businesses and market information, I determined several considerations and success metrics to keep in mind as I developed the brand. Customers are drawn to board game restaurants and bars for their unique atmosphere, social nature, and accessibility, so a successful brand would still need to feel open and engaging without alienating potential customers.
With this in mind I explored several concepts and visual directions for the brand. I initially looked at playful or vintage inspired looks before pivoting to something more sophisticated overall. The brand needed to still feel moody and elegant without seeming too upscale and pushing away casual customers, so I looked at bringing in patterns, line art, and selective photography for a light and playful identity inspired by summertime and neon signs.
Solution
Boardwalk logo wordmark
However, this direction felt cliche and didn't fully express the sophisticated look I wanted to capture for the brand. Taking the best ideas from this initial concept and choosing a contrasting color palette, I developed a set of linework icons inspired by neon signs, and took elements from these icons to create colorful line patterns. These patterns could be applied in numerous ways, and gave the brand a playful feeling overall. I then contrasted these elements with dark background colors and a chunky wordmark logo to create a balance between upscale sophistication and playfulness.
Brand Icon Set
Menu Front and Back Cover
Menu Front Cover
Menu Inside Spread
To support the brand, I created a set of collateral elements including menus, branded glasses and coasters, and restaurant signage. Each of these elements feature patterns and icons from the overall set to ensure they feel consistent, playful and sophisticated. The brand's messaging was design to feel playful and engaging, complimenting the contrasting colors and offbeat patterns.
Results
Drink Menu Front and Back Cover
Drink Menu Inside Spread
Drink Menu Inside Spread
Developing a brand identity for Boardwalk in a relatively short timeframe forced me to make fast design decisions, avoid getting caught up in small details, and create a strong design system to help the brand stand out. Like with Snax, I was reminded how design systems can make complex brand identities easier while still delivering engaging work - and when elements from a design system inform each other and tie together visually, the overall project becomes that much stronger.
That said, it was crucial that I gave myself enough time to explore various ideas and concepts, as the ideation stage can be one of the most important parts of any design project. Generating concepts under pressure can be difficult, but keeping an open mind and exploring different directions can help ideas flow better and make the process significantly easier. Ideas can branch out in interesting directions even while under pressure, so giving yourself enough time to work through them is key.