As the Founding Director of Storytelling for acclaimed New York-based hospitality group AvroKO, I was tasked with turning a small graphic design team into a scalable strategy, branding, and identity group that we named Brand Bureau. Here are just some of the exciting projects that we created.
The idea for BB was to create a new core, multi-pronged AvroKO offering that could meet with a client at the kickoff stage to assess their creative needs and develop a thoughtful, data-driven design plan. Once the architecture was in place, BB would then come back into the picture to establish brand and identity guidelines.
In just two years, we worked with companies as diverse as Google, Burger King, Kiehl’s, Gotham Market, Nobletree Coffee, and Crave Cupcakes, growing BB to more than 12 team member and firmly establishing it as one of the most respected strategy and branding groups in the business today.
Charlie Bird’s colorful menu design
Charlie Bird’s logo and neon signage
Charlie Bird Restaurant (naming, branding, and logo/menu design)
Charlie Bird’s executive chef, Ryan Hardy, had a clear vision for what he wanted to create. A unique mashup of New York street culture, jazz and hip hop, and above all, great food. So together his team and BB brainstormed and riffed and threw lots of great (and lots of bad) ideas against the wall. The result is not just some of the more eclectic branding for a restaurant, but also some of the most fun. The name is different and curious. The menu is colorful and unexpected, evoking Charlie Parker, The Beastie Boys, New York in the 1980s. And, foremost, the food is some of the best in the city, done with an eccentric flare that embodies Chef Ryan’s vision perfectly.
GMW’s logo and brochure.
One of the playful GMW postcards.
Gotham West Market is a first-of-its-kind retail and dining destination in New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen that includes eight artisinal food vendors and an elite bike shop. For this unique space, Brand Bureau designed the interior and created all of the branding and identify for the space including logo, interior and exterior signage, way finding, and all marketing collateral.
Burger King approached Brand Bureau looking for new and innovative thinking about what the future of the brand might look like. Taking inspiration from the structural forms of backyards and the classic American grilling experience, we created a warmer and more inviting environment, harkening back to the days when customers were encouraged to sit, stay, and enjoy their meal, which, in turn, tapped into their emotional connection with the brand. Ultimately, making the “Home of the Whopper” feel more like home.
Brand Bureau collaborated with the coffee brand, Nobletree, to design not just their retail space in the Westfield World Trade Center, but also to create all of their branding and signage. The result was a look and feel that combined the elegance and refinement of an upscale experience while showcasing the beautiful and natural processes that bring coffee beans from the farm to the cup.
The Gin Wheel exterior.
The Gin Wheel interior.
Probably the most fun thing we designed during my time at Brand Bureau was this Lazy Susan inspired “Gin Wheel” for Bombay Sapphire East. Handcrafted from exotic walnut, the main brushed stainless steel housing spins to reveal several secret compartments that store everything you need for a perfect gin and tonic, including glasses, botanicals, ice, tongs, and even coasters.