grub: bug burgers
a branding and UX/UI case study
grub is a pop-up burger restaurant, located at the Philadelphia Zoo, for families to learn about climate change. Through an interactive online menu, customers can choose between bug burgers (yes — burgers made out of bugs!) or vegan burgers if they are a little squeamish. While eating bugs or eating a plant-based diet is not the end-all solution to climate change, reducing meat consumption can greatly reduce your personal carbon emissions, and implementing plant or bug-based meals into your diet can make a big difference.
The Problem
We were tasked with designing a pop-up restaurant at a specific location in Philadelphia. My group was assigned to design a pop-up for the Philadelphia Zoo. Many visitors and workers of the zoo claimed to want healthy food, but actually purchased and craved more unhealthy foods like chicken nuggets, fries, and burgers. The clients also expressed their interest in sustainability and a reduction in waste.
Research
Research is helpful to see what is needed in a location and what is working currently.
Through observation and consultations with the zoo managers, we learned that climate change and sustainability were a topic at the forefront of the director’s minds.
While many people wished for healthy food, they generally ordered foods like french fries, burgers, or chicken nuggets. For grub, focusing on food that looked greasy and filling but was made out of healthy and fresh ingredients was a good idea to start with.
Many zoo guests are interested in trying out vegan and vegetarian food but are wary of the price tag associated with these foods. With this information in mind, grub would work well as a fast-food-style pop-up restaurant with burgers made out of bugs and vegan ingredients, with the meals offset by vegan and dried bug companies to be more affordable.
Bugs were a perfect choice due to the sustainable harvesting methods and full nutrient profile, and many animals at the zoo eat insects.
User Personas
User personas are tools that designers use to visualize how an ideal customer might use a brand, website, or product by creating a hypothetical description of someone who might use the business. Many guests at the zoo are parents with young kids who go to the zoo for educational purposes.
Branding
When designing a logo, designers brainstorm numerous names and visual iconography, and word pairings. After going over various names, we decided that “grub” would work well as the name, due to the double entendre of the word. The next step was to design logos with bugs inside a burger, but they were either too minimal or too busy, and they did not have enough personality for a kid’s brand.
The design was revised and pushed until we settled on a fun logo of a burger made of bugs, with the type arranged in a quirky fashion.
Brand Attributes
In order to make the brand approachable for families, the final brand identity would be modern, whimsical, bright, fun, and colorful.
Style
With the brand attributes in mind, I created a mood board to create an idea of the style of the brand. Next, I started designing! I soon had a cohesive style to match the logo and began working on the typography, icons, and color palette even further. The final design would include quirky and bold illustrations with bright colors and imperfect shapes and bumpy type.
The imperfect, fun design was carried on to the buttons, icons, and patterns. For the font, something whimsical and fun would match the theme so I chose Londrina Solid, with some versions tilted at different angles to add interest. Versions of the typical primary and secondary colors associated with children as well as some fun bright accent colors were chosen for the color palette.
Brand Assets
Environmental Design
For the environmental design, pops of color with neutrals were used to keep the restaurant fun but modern.
Signs
Signs were added around the pop-up for visitors to read while they ate or waited or order their food.
Map
A stylized map that shows the user where the pop-up is at the zoo was to complete the user experience. The mockups of the employee’s shirts, hats, and name tags were designed to unify the branding even further.
Employee Uniforms
The employees would wear ringer tee’s printed with grub’s fun, colorful bug pattern. They would also wear baseball caps in any of the bright brand colors.
Menu Kiosk
The menu is a digital kiosk to match the theme of the pop-up. The user will use the kiosks at the popup to place their orders. They will choose between bug burgers, vegan burgers, classics, salads, sides, drinks.
Once they decide, they will be directed to a page with a variety of options. They can click on the menu item to learn more about what is in the burger and some educational facts about animals that eat bugs. The customer can then add more entrées or other items to their order, which will appear on the side tab of the kiosk.
They are redirected to the final ordering page where they can add or subtract anything from their order. Once they are done, the user can insert their card into the reader on the side. The customer can add their name and phone number so that they receive a text message when their order is ready.
Final Result
The final outcome is a fun and whimsical take on sustainable eating and education that is perfect for kids and their parents. Enjoy!
Credits
Design: Heather Marshall
Art Direction: Abby Guido
Categories: Design, Interactive, Research, Branding
Creative Timeframe: August to December 2019
School: Tyler School of Art and Architecture; Graphic and Interactive Design
