Freelance • Creative Direction • Design • Brand Identity • Brand Toolkit
A talented chef, a tight budget, and a logo that undersold the care she put into her new business.
BEFORE: Website screenshot with meat cleaver logo
The cooking school opened for business with a meat cleaver logo built by a sign company. But it was turning off half of the clientele: families looking for a fun, hands-on after-school activity.
The Ask:
Build a brand worth trusting on a tight budget. Then deliver a toolkit to carry it through independently.
Word Mark
From a meat cleaver to a word mark.
To reflect the actions in the name, I designed the wordmark with three distinct font styles.
A slab serif delivers sharp hard edges with precision.
A soft, chunky font conveys comfort, with the “o” creatively turned into a frying pan and egg.
A rounded serif evokes the joy of special celebrations associated with cake.
Then I added the knife and whisk icons permanently affixed to her storefront door to anchor it back to her physical space.
Final Design Options
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1
COOK fully outlined, frying pan in second O.
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2
COOK is solid except for frying pan “O.”
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3
COOK is solid. Frying pan is solid.
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4
COOK’s Os create two frying pans, outlined in yellow.
Color Palette
I created a warm and comforting color palette.
Primary Colors
Secondary Colors
Identity Variations
Color variations give her distinct looks to any program she runs.
Stacked Color Variations
Horizontal Color Variations
Toolkit
I left her with a Brand Toolkit that gave her the who, the why, and tips for her to incorporate when working on building out her website.
“I had the best experience working with Monica to elevate my brand. The finished design was way more than I expected. I’m so happy with her vision and how fast and clean she works. Her design took my business to another level. Highly recommend.”
Erika Mayol, Owner and Chef, ChopCookCake