branding & storytelling
Rebranding a local restaurant — focusing the brand’s design system, visual assets and ad campaign to cater to a student community.
timeline — April 2024
my role — Graphic Design and Video Editing
tools used — Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere, Express, After Effects and Figma
read about the process
For the final project of my digital media project class, I redesigned Foodie Fruitie's complete brand and media package. Foodie Fruitie is an asian fusion casual dining restaurant in Waterloo. They are targeted towards post-secondary students with a location that is easily accessible from universities in the area, their budget friendly prices and wide variety of asian food and beverages.
The brand's message of offering a diverse blend of asian dishes at an affordable price resonates well with Waterloo’s student community. However, it can fall into the trap of being too generic, with other restaurants in this student-dense area offering identical benefits.
How might Foodie Fruitie leverage its current brand identity to set itself apart from other restaurants?
Currently, their brand’s identity lacks a strong storytelling presence. Many of their exisiting brand materials and visual designs lack unity and cohesion to tell a story. Strengthening the brand's storytelling presence and ensuring consistency across all visual elements, from menus to social media, can enhance Foodie Fruitie's ability to stand out in its current competitive landscape while maintaining appeal to its student demographic.
So what can make their brand more successful? Using the power of storytelling to advertise the experience Foodie Fruitie offers to the student community.
Foodie Fruitie — The campus classic.
The brand story: Students need a welcoming third space where they can study, enjoy good food, and connect with friends. Foodie Fruitie was designed to meet this need by offering a cozy, café-style environment centered around Asian comfort foods and drinks—creating a space that supports both productivity and community.ave a place where they can do it all? Foodie Fruitie is a third space made for students, offering a comfortable cafe-style atmosphere to enjoy asian comfort foods and drinks.
The core of this rebrand highlights the experience Foodie Fruitie delivers to Waterloo’s student community.
This campaign is marketed towards young adult and post-secondary student audiences, incorporating (i.e. trending Tiktok/Reel “sounds”, cinematographic video styles) common to users of this demographic.
Social storytelling reinforces brand experience: Leaning into short-form video and student-focused content trends allowed the brand to communicate atmosphere and lifestyle, not just products. This helped position Foodie Fruitie as a place students connect with—not just eat from.
Designing for a specific community matters: Focusing on Waterloo students shaped everything from tone to visual style. Positioning Foodie Fruitie as a cozy third space for studying, socializing, and comfort food made the brand feel relatable and grounded in student life.
