Background: Midtown Multipliers is a faith-based, non-for-profit food truck in Atlanta, Georgia that specializes in build-your-own tacos. All proceeds earned by Midtown Multipliers would be donated to Atlanta food banks where volunteer efforts are organized twice a month. The scope of this project included designing a logo mark for them, business cards, letterhead, envelope, merchandise, menus, and a discount card that all retained the same identity.
Problem to Solve: Midtown Multipliers needed an identity that had the ability to bring the word of God to the public through a contemporary and friendly outlet. This identity needed to be flexible enough to work at virtually any scale and in any medium. Another problem that Midtown Multipliers may face is losing customers because of their strong connection to Christianity, so looking at brands like Chic-Fil-A who share the same values but are still amazingly successful became a key.
Solution: To solve this problem, my first steps were to research Midtown Multiplier’s core beliefs which includes the passage from the bible where Jesus feeds the multitudes with only a few fish and a couple loaves of bread. This story, paired with their predominantly seafood based menu, lead me to exploring the use of a fish as the main image. From here my goal was to make a fish image versatile and appealing in many settings.
To make the fish more approachable, I applied a contemporary blue and green color palette. These colors were friendly, bold, and gave the fish life – instead of relating it to a dead fish, which seemed to happen with a warmer more neutral toned color palette.
The next issue of scalability lead me to pursuing a simple, geometric design. This simplified triangular design lead to better brand recognition and took the fish image from being just a food item to acting more as a mascot for Midtown Multipliers. The geometry of the logo also spurred an exploration in a triangle pattern that was used in many of the secondary identity pieces.
Outcome: The final design captures the joyful and friendly spirit of Midtown Multipliers and makes their brand recognizable and memorable. The bold blues and greens pop in any environment and at any size. The geometric theme provides a contemporary and fresh approach to a non-profit organization and balances the food and service dichotomy of their business nicely.
Reflection: Reflecting on this project I am very pleased with the outcome but I do feel like some of the materials could have been improved with the addition of photography, which is a key element for many service based businesses as it brings in the element of people. Photography could have also provided a break from the strict color palette used here and warmed up the branding.
Another challenge I faced was working within the budget of a non-profit. I took every step possible to keep the materials budget friendly and easy to reproduce with the exception of the business card(which I explored a more elaborate design as it would make an immediate impact for potential donors). I think this real life challenge was a great learning experience and showed how I could make the most of a brand with a limited budget.
