During the pandemic, business owners were eager to understand what the "new normal" would mean for fine dining. Studies conducted questioned its long-term economic effects on the restaurant industry, revealing that once the pandemic was over people planned to be more discerning with their spending. As a result, to survive traditional fine dining had to evolve into something new.

Like others, Bohanan's took a major hit to their business. They found patrons had started to prefer finding flexible and sometimes less expensive options they could enjoy from home. The ownership decided to initiate several new ventures, including "B@Home" an online fine dining service, "Fri-Date Night" a complete date night experience delivered to your door, and "B Downstairs" the expansion of Bohanan's downstairs bar.

My team and I guided them through a comprehensive brand exploration to identify opportunities for emotional connection with their patrons. We discovered that Bohanan's current loyal patrons were primarily older, so we needed to evolve the brand in a way that would attract a new, younger audience without alienating their existing fanbase.

Stylescapes were created for the three brands (Bohanans, B@Home, and B Downstairs) to help keep the creative team aligned with the strategic direction and the visual look and feel of each brand.

CREATIVE EXPLORATION TURNED CLIENT ASSET

For fun, I’ve been learning how to design and produce letterforms. During an impromptu chat with Cathy, Bohanan's Marketing Manager, I mentioned my experiments with font design. One thing led to another, and soon, an unnamed font family I produced was approved for use by Bohanan's.

The family has three weights: thin, regular, and bold. I named each as a nod to how people order steaks at the restaurant. They are now called Bohanan's Rare (thin), Prime (roman), and Well Done (bold), respectively.