River City Roll

BRAND IDENTITY • BRAND EXTENSIONS

OVERVIEW

River City Roll is a high-end entertainment venue in the Richmond, VA market. It offers a top-notch menu and bar, attracting a diverse crowd. Rob Long had the idea to create a social spot where people could gather to dine, play, and party. I collaborated with Rob to develop their brand system, including the logo and menu design for the restaurant.

MY ROLE

Brand strategy
Brand identity
Art direction
Brand messaging
Print design
Brand merchandising

THE TEAM

After winning a logo contest, I worked directly with the owner and lead chefs for River City Roll.

TIMELINE

Sept 2017 — Summer 20122

CHALLENGES

This is an entertainment destination with an exceptional menu and bar that attracts a diverse crowd. Our target audience consists of individuals who frequent trendy bars and restaurants, rather than traditional bowling alleys. The logo should appeal to those who come to dine, play, and party.
 

PROCESS

The brand style should complement the space while also being strong on its own. After immersing myself in the project, conducting extensive research, and gathering inspiration from various sources, including moodboards and sketching numerous concepts for "Roll," I was able to create a logo design that truly infused character into the lettering and styling.

After obtaining the building plans, I noticed that River City Roll's location has an upscale, industrial ambiance. To capture this aesthetic, I created a moodboard focusing on arrangements that incorporate dark tones and textures.
 

KEY TAKEAWAYS 

• Using Dark tones, we would commit to the monotone pallette to stand out from the rich natural textures of the building.

• Typography would need to have variability in scale and presence in order to distinguish between elements.
  

The client preferred a badge style for their logo, envisioning it as a stamp with irregular linework and a gritty texture. I followed a similar approach, keeping it in line with their vision.
 

For different design placements, I carefully selected font pairings to ensure visual consistency and readability. Gilroy, with its strong and bold characteristics, was chosen for billboards and signage, while the combination of Gnuolane and Cardo was used for smaller personal moments like menus and business cards.
 

In order to protect the brand from the challenges of startup growth, I created a brand book for the client and other vendors. This brand book provided guidance on logo usage, colors, the structure of advertising pieces, and various media use cases.

RESULTS

River City Roll opened in Spring 2018 and remains a social hub in Scotts Addition. I was fortunate to collaborate with the Roll team on various creative initiatives to align with the brand's objectives.

Providing expertise for visual design needs, including illustration, product design, and campaign marketing.