Confit Restaurant Branding
Location: Harrisburg Pennsylvania Area
Reach: Regional
Targets: Families and area business professionals
Abstract //
One successful restaurant brand deserves another. After a profitable launch of Bayou, another restaurant concept branded by Vigor, Chef Matthew Black embarked on a new journey into classic French cuisine in the area building off his signature, no-frills/great taste concept predecated by Bayou.
Key Challenges //
- Gather research and metrics necessary to identify a successful restaurant concept
- Develop a name and brand identity for the concept
- Design environmental elements to support the brand experience
Do it with Vigor //
We were off to a good start, having branded Chef Black's thriving Bayou restaurant concept only a year prior. Locale and demographics were shared, so we were able to leverage much of the research performed for Bayou to get a good bead on our targets for the new Confit French Bistro concept just a few miles away.
Our initial identity comps reflected just what the research told us. Confit was a no-frills French cuisine establishment on the main street of an affluent neighborhood. It occupied a space that hosted a successful fine dining venue until Confit came along, so we could be assured that any concept within reach of what drove business before could work here now. We took inspiration from the authentic French cafe/bistros that dot Europe in smaller towns on the fringe of larger cities. Our goal was to capture this essence and then take some artistic license in translating this to an American ideal of what a French bistro might be like.
Chef Black had taken several investigative trips around the U.S., putting a particular emphasis on The French Laundry located in Napa, California—a concept by the famous Chef Thomas Keller, for the basis of the cuisine and, right or wrong, the look and feel of Confit. We advised that, while you can get away with the minimalist approach of The French Laundry in Napa—and if you're Chef Thomas Keller—special care should be taken in appropriating elements of its success in the Harrisburg market.
The client urged us to scrap our initial interpretations of the identity and take pointers from Napa, which we did, but not without protest. We ultimately delivered a more minimal version of the logo concept with an emphasis on the importance of color, rather than typography or illustration to carry the message.
Vigor Services //
- Brand identity design and strategy
- Exterior and Interior signage design
Results //
Confit opened in early August, 2007.
