Bánh Mì Très Bon Rebrand

Helping a local Vietnamese restaurant rebrand to grow alongside their expansion

TASK

Create a new logo and supporting visual system to rebrand a local restaurant, that would better represent Bánh Mì Très Bon today–modern Vietnamese cuisine.

OUTCOME

The logo represents the boat which comes with every BMTB Phở bowl, a hand-made piece brought back from central Vietnam. This boat frames the modernized wordmark, a simplified version of the sans and serif combination of the original.

Check out the Wix Website I designed for Bánh Mì Très Bon; and check out one of their locations in Richmond or White Rock, BC.

CLIENT

Bánh Mì Très Bon

DATE

2023

SERVICES PROVIDED

Logo System Design
Visual Identity System
Wix Website Design
Custom Canva Social Media Templates

Before tackling the new logo or brand visuals, it was important to understand exactly the vision Lan (owner) had in mind for this rebrand. This began by outlining some basic aspects that were most important to convey and incorporate into the identity.

VALUES

Integrity
Community
Presentation
Teamwork

PERSONALITY

Friendly
Aspirational
Passionate
Creative

QUALITIES

Innovative
Unique
Elegant
Family-Oriented

We then evaluated the existing presence Bánh Mì Très Bon had, looking to identify what was and was not working. Along with potential opportunities that could be addressed during the rebrand.

When considering the new logo for BMTB, I wanted to find a way to incorporate something regulars would immediately associate with the restaurant. After only five years they have achieved great success and gained many loyal customers who would be critical of the re-design.

Here are 3 early concepts which also explore the use of “BMTB” as a corporate logo would be needed along with the full name version. The primary objectives we outlined together was to modernize the typography and clearly identify as Vietnamese.

Concepts presented

With a longer name this aspect would have to be quite minimal, and shouldn’t distract too much from the name itself. Two items immediately came to mind, these unique hand-made pieces Lan had brought back from central Vietnam.

Matching figures, one carrying two plates with a shoulder pole (used for French macarons), and the second manning a boat that comes with every soup (to serve bean sprouts, fresh basil, and lime).

Between these 3 concepts the choice was unanimous – their Phở is a must try on the menu. Regulars would immediately see the representation, and new customers might pick up the logo correlation after their first bowl.

Final Logo System

The final logo was designed as a flexible system with a primary logo, wordmark (horizontal or stacked), and corporate version. The manned boat frames the name, Bánh Mì Très Bon, which is set in a combination of sans and serif typeface. This pairing was chosen to help break the name into two manageable parts, and is a modernized version of their original logo.

The colour is directly inspired by the walls in the original Richmond location, which have helped to establish their social presence as a beautiful backdrop to the photo-worthy food.

To support the new logo I created custom icons of their feature dishes and custom cocktails, which could be incorporated into the visual identity and used for their menus. I initially began by sketching out how each dish could be considered, aiming to achieve a set that would work together and individually.

Early sketches

From there I created vector versions in Adobe Illustrator, and a patterned background that could be used in the brand.

Custom Icon Series

Pattern of Icons

Alongside the brand development we hoped to achieve a social strategy that could be achieved by her in-house staff members, who don’t have any social media experience. To prepare for this it was important to clearly outline as much as possible in their pinned social highlights on Instagram (their primary online presence).

For this I created a series to be released over the weeks following the new logo release, prepared holiday content, and editable Canva templates that can be easily executed by her staff.

Social Stories for Bánh Mì Très Bon

Pinned Highlight Covers for Bánh Mì Très Bon

Alongside the new logo release I re-designed their Wix website to incorporate the new branding. This is a critical touchpoint for Bánh Mì Très Bon as customers will look here for the most up-to-date menu offering.

Wix Website Design for Bánh Mì Très Bon

Editable templates for various content were created via Canva for her staff to execute as needed.

Editable Canva Templates for Bánh Mì Très Bon

Signage for Bánh Mì Très Bon’s White Rock Location

In addition to rebranding, Bánh Mì Très Bon was expanding by opening a 2nd location in White Rock, BC!