Glufree Cucina

Brand & Identity

For my graduate capstone project, I developed the branding and identity for Glufree Cucina, a fictional Italian gluten-free restaurant located in the heart of St Kilda. This project stems from my personal experience as a food lover with a passion for traditional Italian cuisine, yet often struggling to find authentic flavours that cater to dietary restrictions. Glufree Cucina embodies the essence of inclusivity and culinary excellence, combining the rich heritage of Italian cooking with a modern, gluten-free twist. Through this project, I aimed to create a brand that celebrates flavour, authenticity and an inclusive dining experience for all.

Additionally, this project showcases my skills in the following technical areas:

InDesign, Photoshop, Lightroom, Illustrator + Figma

The Challenge

With the gluten-free market rapidly expanding, Glufree Cucina aims to position itself as the go-to destination for lovers of traditional Italian cuisine who seek authentic flavors without compromise. The challenge is to create a brand that balances authenticity, trendiness, and sophistication, attracting a diverse clientele while offering the assurance of a 100% gluten-free menu. Through thoughtful branding, the goal is to establish the restaurant as a trusted and appealing choice for gluten-free dining, setting it apart in the competitive restaurant market.

The Outcome

The branding for Glufree Cucina required both a word mark and brand mark, packaging for their takeaway bags, business cards, menu, uniforms, a website, social media page and a document outlining brand guidelines. All imagery seen throughout website and social media applications are original.

Delivered

Brand & Identity

Art Direction

Website

Brand Strategy

Style Guide

Social Media

Packaging

Year

2024

The Process

The design process for Glufree Cucina utilised both divergent and convergent approaches. It began with a divergent phase, exploring the gluten-free market and Italian dining culture through research into existing competitors, mood boards and brainstorming multiple concepts focused on the restaurant’s core values. This phase included generating a variety of logo ideas, colour palettes and design styles.

I collected minimalist hand drawn illustrations as it aims to give the restaurant a casual, friendly feel, suggesting that while the food is high quality, the environment is unpretentious and inclusive. I first began to sketch quick ideas associated with the Italian dining scene so mostly pizza and pasta. I knew I wanted the illustrations to be kept simple and clean and implement one line illustrations to communicate the idea of the restaurant being inclusive despite dietary needs as the Italian culture is all about food bringing people together.

The process then transitioned into a convergent phase, refining the strongest concepts to align with the brand’s values and target audience. A cohesive visual system was developed, encompassing the logo, typography, color palette and supporting graphics, which were applied to deliverables such as menus, signage and social media templates. This iterative approach ensured a consistent and professional identity for Glufree Cucina.