A website with spice.
Yak & Yum
This client needed a new brand identity and website for his new business. Yak&Yum was created in conjunction with DARStudios for a Manchester-based food and catering business.
My responsibilities on this project began with collaborating on branding alongside other designers from the studio. Later, I partnered with the UX designer, focusing primarily on the UI aspects of the project.
ROLE: Designer
TIME: 3 months
Discovery phase
To start this project, we had an initial conversation with the client to understand what he actually needed. He wanted the brand to become more appealing to a broader and modern audience.
After that, I did my own research to understand the market itself, combining some general competition research, Manchester-based restaurants and catering businesses, and Indian food. And with that, we had a second meeting to show our findings and refine the expectations for the brand.
It was important that the brand was fresh and that the visuals could stand on its own..
For the Branding Development
To kickstart the branding process, our team of designers engaged in an extensive brainstorming session. This collaborative effort was aimed at identifying key themes and concepts that would resonate with the brand's identity and target audience. Each team member contributed unique insights and perspectives, which enriched the brainstorming process and ensured a comprehensive exploration of ideas.
During this phase, we created:
the brand logo;
visual identity package with colour pallets, typography and other visual elements;
some ideas for initial posting and guides to help the client to continue promoting his business (social media package);
Key outcomes of the brainstorming session included a list of targeted keywords that would guide the branding strategy. These keywords were meticulously selected to reflect the core values, mission, and vision of the brand. By aligning our creative directions with these keywords, we ensured a consistent and cohesive brand message across all platforms.
The keywords were: PASSION | AUTHENTICITY | DELIGHT
The concept and logo
We can out with the concept of "Good food, good talk".
Yak&Yum is all about combining good meal with good conversation, food connecting people. YAK comes from a slang for "talk” and YUM as a sound when you taste a delicious meal. Putting this two words together created a playful name that express this feeling.
On the logo, we used some graphic elements to represent a smile, a plus sign and some lines to represent the sound when someone talks, bringing the concept to life.
For the website
And with the branding done, it was time for me to create the website layout. I did some layout research to show the client beforehand with the goal of seeing if my ideas would be close to what he was expecting to see on the website.
After that, we in the UX designer that I was working with decided on the page structure and site map. This was important for me to know which pages I needed to work on.
The website was created to allow people to learn more about their brand, check out their menus and offerings, buy their food online, make bookings for catering or events, and contact them directly via phone, email, or social media.
Given that this is a new brand, it was essential to clearly present their services at the very beginning of the page. Since the business focuses on catering, the first call to action (CTA) is for booking, strategically placed on the landing part of the page.
Following the initial CTA, we highlight the unique aspects of their service, with an option for visitors to explore more details on a dedicated page.
A special section is dedicated to the menu, allowing visitors to get a feel for the offerings. To make this section more engaging, we incorporated fun graphic elements like stickers.
Additionally, we included testimonials to showcase previous client experiences, helping to build trust and credibility with potential new customers.
Takeaways
It was a very fun project, and the team was really fun to work with, with different backgrounds and ideas, which made the project move in an interesting path and made the client happy.
But now, with more knowledge, I would change the layout a little, in a way to improve the colour combination for a better contrast.
This project sparked my interest in delving deeper into UI/UX design. It was a valuable experience that encouraged me to explore and seek further knowledge in this field.
New version
Now that I’ve deepened my knowledge of UI Design, I’ve created a new version of the layout based on my key takeaways.
My main focus wasn’t to drastically change the layout or design itself but rather to refine the spacing using the 4-point grid system and improve color contrast.
One of my key decisions was updating the CTA color to make it stand out more and ensure it meets at least AA contrast standards.
Additionally, I designed a mobile version to enhance responsiveness and usability across different screen sizes.
