Discovery & Process
For the logo, I was inspired by the designs of vintage ice cream parlors. I wanted to give it that retro feel, but in a modern way. Since we wanted to keep the font style similar to the original that would continue to be seen in places like the store awning, I started by redrawing the text in Illustrator. I tweaked the letters to update the style, while still keeping them similar to the original shape, and referencing retro font styles for inspiration. I then started to add on other elements to complete the look.
For the website, I wanted to modernize it with a very clean and simple style that would showcase the ice cream photography. I used Sketch to start laying out the content for each page. I created a mini style guide with the main font styles and colors that would be used. The store color has always been purple, so I played off of that with a few updated shades.
For the photos themselves, I spent a few days researching best practices in food photography, prepared a few surface and background boards, and headed to the shop with my DSLR to take some photos. The biggest challenge is that ice cream melts fast, so the photos and staging have to happen as quickly as possible. After my day taking photos, I took them into Lightroom to brighten and lightly edit.
Outcome
The logo and website design were met with great feedback. At this time, it was Spring 2020 during lockdown, so the store was closed. We used the logo in several social media posts to announce the re-opening, as well as the limited menu and changing hours. A local printing company in town also held a t-shirt fundraiser for all of the small businesses in the area. Since all of the stores were closed, each business would have a t-shirt printed for customers to purchase, with proceeds going to that small business. We used the new logo on our shirt, and ours was the most purchased design in town.
