One visit to our site and it’s no secret that we have an affinity for all things Southern.
So when John Kunkel (of Lime Fresh Mexican Grill and 50 Eggs, Inc.) started talking about partnering with Southern Brand owner, Chris Romero and Chef Jeff McInnis (of Gigi and Top Chef fame) for a farm-fresh, Southern cooking concept right here on South Beach it was what people call a “Hell-Yeah” moment.
Back at the office, we knew we had our work cut out for us. I mean, it’s a big deal to create a brand identity from scratch for anyone but when that “anyone” is your boss sitting in the next office, well …
But we love a good challenge so we switched out the hip hop for hill country blues,
started dropping the letter G from just about everythin’ and threw ourselves into all things Southern. And before we knew it (a nice way of saying after lots and lots of hard work,
re-work, revisions, bacon, sweat and tears), our magnum opus was born. A living, breathing testament to all things honest and good – and all the things that Chris had been sending, singing, eating, preaching and teaching about since, well, ever.
From the website to the interior decor, the menu to the hand-done chalk drawings on the walls, we are proud to say from conception to design, there’s not a thing about Yardbird we haven’t had our hand in. So it’s with humble pride and a whole lotta love that we present to you Yardbird Southern Table & Bar.
And if you think the work is good …. you should taste the fried chicken! (cue the announcer voice) Yardbird Southern Table and Bar, open Sunday to Thursday 12:00 PM - 12:00 AM and Friday and Saturday 12:00 PM - 2:00 AM. Visit runchickenrun.com for more information.
For all you purists, Luther and the fellas have put out Keys To The Kingdom on vinyl.
The way it ought to be heard. Grab yo’self a copy, dust off your momma’s record player and get yo’self an education in the Mississippi hill country blues.
We’re honored to have been tapped to design the artwork for such a special project.
The album is an amazing celebration of life and a tribute to Luther & Cody’s father Jim Dickinson. The design is based on a dream that Luther had shortly before his
father passed away.
If you’re from around these South Florida parts then you know this: Lime makes one mean burrito. So when they came to us for some branding TLC before they started to expand up along the east coast, we all agreed that the first step would be research. Lots and lots of salsa-topping, guac-dipping, burrito-eating research.
In between meals, errr… research, we focused heavily on establishing a voice and tone that would stand out from the other socially-concious burrito shops but still highlight Lime’s unique practices: Certified Humane meats, fresh, local ingredients, sustainable products, etc. Lucky for us, this voice was born from one meeting with Lime CEO John Kunkel who was everything the Lime brand represented: refreshingly honest, bold and no b.s.
The result? A re-invigorated brand identity that positioned Lime as the bad-ass burrito shop they are, all wrapped up pretty in a Lime Brand Book that would help everyone from employees to vendors “get” Lime. Well that and a few extra pounds on the creative team.
Free Chips and Guac creates a ruckus on Lincoln Road
In our very first meeting with Lime CEO John Kunkel, he said the words every creative agency wants to hear: I’m not afraid of ruffling a few feathers. Rest assured, we would not let him down.
These cards were handed out by street teams during the grand opening of Rosa Mexicano on Lincoln Road. Which also happened to be on the weekend of the South Beach Food and Wine Festival. Which also happened to upset the Rosa Mexicano CEO so much that he made the trip to the South Beach location up the road to share some choice words. Feathers, ruffled.
South Beach Group Hotels is a group of boutique hotels that are just the kind of funky, fun irreverence that SoBe visitors are looking for. Their properties include the Catalina, Chesterfield and even the Metropole, which housed the spray-tanned cast of the Jersey Shore during their time in Miami.
Our work with them included updating the bus wrap graphics on the buses they have to brings guests to and from the airport and all around South Beach. But boring was not an option. Awe-some.
In addition, we used the same look from the bus to update their in room collateral for a “Welcome to Miami” book that offers restaurant recommendations and “get-real” SoBe club advice like, “4 girls? You’re in. 4 guys? You’re in .... line all night.”
We hate when people take themselves too seriously. So when Abe Ng and his wife Christina came to us to help re-brand their sushi empire Sushi Maki we were all, “But we eat sushi with our hands and mispronounce gyoza.” But then they were all, “We don’t mind! We want to make sushi accessible to everyone. Even the chopstick-impaired.” And now we’re all, “Let’s work together forever!”
With the goal of “democratizing sushi” we got right to work on giving this growing company a look and tone that was as cool, fun, approachable and “good” as they are. We also wanted it to feel as fresh and handcrafted as the food they serve. So we created a positioning statement and a brand book that would help focus all of the restaurants, kiosks, Whole Foods stations, catering, and you-name-it-they’re-doing-it-s. Wanna see where we ended up? Go fish! (Click the main image above to see more of the work)
And check back again soon to see how we carried this new look into a whole new sushimaki.com!
Southern Brand recently created a new online experience for Chestnut Hill Farms.
Aimed at educating their customers on their products and practices, the site was designed with an easy-to-use content management system to be fully updatable in-house. Complete with detailed depictions of their farming processes, an educational and entertaining blog as well as a “Weekly Pineapple Report” and a downloadable “Climate Variables Chart” to help their customers with forecasting, the site now serves as a potent sales tool and further communicates CHF’s already superior commitment to customer service.
What else would you expect from a bunch of farmers?
SBC works with Pediatric Critical Care of South Florida
It is often in advertising that, when hours are spent toiling over the kerning of a headline or deciding at 1 a.m. whether “your mom” or “yo mama” sounds better, we put things into perspective with the adage, “We’re not saving lives.” We know what we do for our clients is important - and we’re honored to do it day in and day out - but at the end of the day, we’re no heroes.
So when actual hero and pediatric surgeon and specialist, Dr. Gerald Lavandosky came to us wanting a brand identity package and a website for Pediatric Critical Care of South Florida, a group of medical professionals specially trained in pediatric critical care and affiliated with several of South Florida’s most recognized and well-respected hospitals including, Joe DiMaggio Children’s hospital and North Naples Hospital, we were honored to say the least.
Our goal was to create a clean, cohesive look that unified and clearly defined the medical professional group and then translate that look into an easy-to-navigate website that was not just full of important information, but also offered a sense of relief to visitors who undoubtedly never wanted to be visiting this site at all.
Here’s where we ended up. Still not saving lives, but darn proud to be working with
people who do. Click here to visit the site.
Southern Brand is excited to unveil websites for Perdomo Cigars and the Miami HEAT.
Perdomo Cigars
When Perdomo Cigars came to us with their ideas for an expansive, new online presence, we were truly impressed with their passion and commitment to their craft. In designing their content-rich, interactive site we wanted to communicate the three distinct pillars on which the Perdomo brand has been built: quality, tradition and excellence. Their authentic approach to the cigar making process and their unparalleled attention to detail from seed to smoke is second-to-none and provided the perfect platform for the site. Likewise, their rich history and commitment to family, which includes their employees and longtime clients, provided the landscape for the content and interactive blog portion of the site. The end goal was to make the Perdomo experience online, as enjoyable as the cigars themselves.
Just in time to greet the much-buzzed about “3 Kings of South Beach,” Southern Brand worked with longtime client the Miami HEAT, as well as the NBA to create a new look and improved functionality for the Miami HEAT website.
