sōlum

The design challenge for this project was to conceptualize and design a restaurant brand identity program. I began by designing the brand identity and applied it to selected brand touchpoints. Next, I designed a multipage brand manual to specify how to publish and fabricate brand elements. This provides guidance on how to conceive and produce marketing materials in the future. 

Sōlum, is a plant-based, quick-eats style restaurant. The brand’s core values center around sustainable food production and community education about food sourcing and its environmental impacts. This restaurant identity was built with inclusivity in mind and brings an air of positivity and hopefulness to a global issue around which dialogue is often bleak. 

The word ‘sōlum’ has its roots in Latin and originally meant “base” or “sole.” The English adaptation of the word describes the upper layers of a soil profile that are affected by climate and vegetation. Both of these definitions connote a kind of rootedness and awareness as well as an intrinsic connection to one’s physical environment. These associations played an integral role in both brand messaging and the development of visual assets. Each illustration is multi-layered in meaning and connects back to Sōlum’s core values in a nuanced way. The brand’s language, color scheme, and signature illustration style are

humble, hopeful, and vibrant.