Alchemy: Branding Rogue Chefs
Developing a Brand and Website For Chefs Exploring the Mysteries of Flavor
Background
Tim Luym and Ronnie Taylor are 2 veteran chefs of San Francisco's vibrant culinary scene. Tim has been recognized as a San Francisco Chronicle Rising Star Chef and a James Beard Rising Star Chef nominee while Ronnie has been a chef in some of SF's best restaurants, most notably, Michael Mina's Pabu.
Tim and Ronnie came to Plinth to develop a brand and website for their culinary consultancy, Alchemy.
OBJECTIVES
- Create a full brand around the Alchemy concept.
- Develop a distinct visual identity including logo, collateral, and website.
- Create verbal identity, including tagline, description, and web copy.
STRATEGY
- Establish Alchemy's core values and persona to give the brand depth, dimension, and uniqueness.
- Create a design language inspired by ancient alchemy, iconic runes, and mystery.
- Develop a verbal identity that communicates Alchemy's distinct perspective and personality.
brand fundamentals
In order to bring Alchemy to life, we interviewed the duo and distilled the company's core values. Establishing these core values will provide the foundations of the brand as well aid in keeping the brand's consistency moving forward
Brand Voice Persona
Core Values
Creating a fictional brand persona for Alchemy serves as inspiration for the design language and personality of copy.
Logo
To design Alchemy's logo, we took inspiration from runic icons, mystic symbols, and Japanese mon emblems. Our goal was to create a mark that signaled nature, magic, and mystery.
Black and gold were chosen as the brand's primary colors in theme with ancient alchemy.
Verbal Identity
We created the tagline "Kulinary Sorcery" to communicate that Alchemy is about creating magic moments with food. We used the "K" to subtly signal Tim and Ronnie's Filipino American heritage.
To help describe what Alchemy does while retaining the mystery and magic of the brand, we developed a one line description:
"Unraveling the Mysteries of Flavor by Harnessing the Power of Earth, Ocean, Culture, and Cuisine."
A web design and photo styling that evokes a sense of wonder and invites exploration
We wanted the Alchemy website to have a sense mystery so the entire site is set against a black background. Rather than flood the user with information, we used more cinematic photos with smoke and levitation as well as bright food shots against dark backgrounds.
TESTIMONIAL
Chef Ronnie Taylor, Partner Alchemy SF
“ I’d definitely recommend Plinth to anyone looking for branding and/or web work in the food or hospitality business. We chose to work with them because of the work they’ve done for other San Francisco restaurants. Plinth has a unique understanding of the food and hospitality business because many of many of the team are former restauranteurs.
It’s that hospitality experience, along with their creativity, which sets them apart.
- Chef Ronnie Tayor, Alchemy SF Partner”
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