Bento at the Yard
Creating a brand identity for a pop-up restaurant that specializes in serving bento box meals.
Designer: Jeremiah Reardon (myself)
Instructor: Abby Guido
Institution: Tyler School of Art + Architecture, Temple University
Awards: 2021 Graphis New Talent Annual—Honorable Mention for Branding // 2019 Tyler Pop-Up Restaurant Design Competition—1st Place
Category: Student Work
Tags: Branding // Packaging Design
The Prompt and Requirements
Create a brand identity for a pop-up restaurant at the Philadelphia Navy Yard
Requirement one: the concept and branding must be informed by research
Requirement two: the pop-up restaurant must be thematically linked to the Navy Yard
The Inspiration and Initial Sketch Work
While developing the initial concepts for the pop-up restaurant, I came across this mural while researching the Philadelphia Navy Yard. The mural, which is known as the “Dazzle Wall,” features a series of black and white geometric patterns created by Philadelphia artist Nate Harris. The patterns that Harris created were directly inspired by dazzle patterns used on naval warships in the 20th century as a form of “camouflage.” The abstract and geometric nature of these patterns tied in perfectly with research I had previously done on contemporary Japanese graphic design. The “Dazzle Wall” became the primary inspiration for what would become a bento-box-themed pop-up restaurant as Nate Harris’ work laid the foundation for what I would design next.
