El Harissa is a community/family-oriented restaurant, small Tunisian inspired market, cafe, and deli that brings a special style of Mediterranean cuisine with a North African (Tunisian/Moroccan) fusion. The business is in need of a complete rebrand spanning from a logo, comprehensive style guide, business cards, website, menu redesign, signage and more. Target areas of concern are consistency and clarity in their business for consumers, as there is some confusion on who they are and what kind of cuisine they sell. The Client lacks a thorough representation of their business’ identity on the exterior and interior of the building as well as in the signage within their market. They are also failing to activate a new market with students and other potential clientele through signage and positioning within student spaces when they are catering within the University setting. What the Client wishes to achieve in this new rebranding is to educate the community on North African culture and history, promote a community-oriented space, and use sustainable practices in their practices and packaging. Despite the changes due to the pandemic, what has remained is the community uplift inherent to the business’ success.
The project goal is to expand research on North African culture and art to include in a more comprehensive and representative logo and branding for El Harissa. By establishing a new logo and integrating an established color way and guide, the designer seeks to create a consistency within the flow of the brand. The goal of the new design is to reestablish the cultural identity and significance of El Harissa’s culinary background. This new design seeks to clearly communicate the family history while also giving new life to the business as a whole. This will be accomplished by incorporating symbols, significant colors, or iconography from what the client expressed interest in. The client would like to include a more detailed design style that draws together the mediterranean and North African influences to educate consumers and creates a unique visual representation specific to the business. The intention of the brand redesign is to move towards a simplified branding style that is easily recognized by “El H.”
