CASE STUDY | BONTÁ GELATO
Always Fresh, Always Frozen
Art Direction, Web Design,
& Branding
Bontá Natural Artisan Gelato wanted to communicate to their customers that they don't cut corners and hold themselves to the highest standard when it comes to fresh ingredients.
Bontá already had a logo, packaging, a website, and some photography, however much of the brand was disjointed and the visual messaging lacked consistency.
Project Goals
1
Organize and define Bontá's branding
2
Create fresh photography highlighting best-selling flavors and fresh ingredients
3
Revamp the Bontá website and refine its visual hierarchy
My Team & Role
As the art director, I worked with Mazama Media's in-house photographer/graphic designer. I also was the primary point of contact with the client about this project's proposal and goals.
I created the brand guide, web design, and contributed with food styling during the photo shoot. The photography proposal was a collaboration between myself and Mazama Media's full time graphic designer.
PROBLEM FRAMING
Intentional Questions
Seeing the brand through the client's eyes
I started with a branding conversation with the client. Since they already had an existing brand, I wanted to understand what parts of the brand they love and what qualities set them apart from the competition. I asked them questions designed to elicit information about their goals for the brand.
After this conversation, I created a proposal for the art direction.
RESEARCH
Not in Italy Anymore
Positioning in the Pacific Northwest
In the art direction proposal, I included the results of my visual and competitive research. I wanted to figure out how to craft a luxury gelato brand with its roots in the Pacific Northwest, not in the classic Italian gelato aesthetic. Our competitive analysis assessed established ice cream and gelato brands and studied their design aesthetic.
We focused on minty color blocking and local ingredients such as local Tumalo lavender. We wanted the vintage-rustic look of an old fashioned gelato shop, but with a clean and contemporary color palette. We found layouts in our competitive analysis that we were able to use to plan the photoshoot.
PHOTOGRAPHY
Timing is Everything
Styling & shooting gelato
Once we had gathered all the necessary props and ingredients for the shoot, Mazama Media's in-house photographer set up the lighting. The two of us laid out each set up according to our proposal with as much precision as possible because once we pulled out the gelato and started styling, we had only about 10 minutes to get the shot before everything melted.
EXISTING WEBSITE & PHOTOGRAPHY:
WEBSITE
Brand Assessment
Taking stock & recognizing challenges
At the start of this project, the client already had a website; however, the colors were cold and uninviting, with difficult-to-read text. The logo was not utilized on the mobile version of the website.
WEBSITE REDESIGN:
I redesigned the website so the text is easier to read, improving the type hierarchy as I went. I centered a large delicious photo of their gelato, appealing to the users' sense of taste. Finally, I shifted the color palette to a warm chocolate brown with caramel accents.
BRAND GUIDE
A new playbook
Ensuring consistency in the future
The client wanted a brand guide that would serve as a cohesive reference for their visual brand. This guide allows the client to easily communicate with employees and agencies about their brand.
RESULTS
Impact
A fresh look
Bontá Gelato got 15 new five-star Yelp reviews in the 10 months following the completion of this branding work. This is excellent given that those months encompassed the COVID-19 lockdowns, which heavily impacted the shop.
