SweetDiner is a restaurant located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin’s historic Third Ward. SweetDiner serves upscale American brunch in a space with luxury fixtures, a neutral palette and exposed elements of the original building.

I designed a logo and print materials that echoed the vision - a clean, structured system with small elevated touches.

The branding process

The client envisioned their restaurant as no ordinary “diner”. Instead of the usual aesthetic associated with diners, the owners had a vision of creating an upscale dining experience amidst clean, refined, and modern elements.

My response to the challenge? Create branding that reflected their vision, felt self-assured and minimal but had an angle. I combined the “Sweet” and “Diner” of the original name to a single line “SweetDiner” to add intrigue, brand personality and differentiation.

Menu design

I was challenged to create the SweetDiner menu from scratch. I created a clean gridded system that was needed to support the robust set of menu items that the restaurant offered.

I determined that a one-sided large scale sheet could serve double duty- it functions both as a placemat and as additional brand exposure within the restaurant’s culinary photography.

Specialty menus

In addition to the full food menu, I extended the brand system to drink menus, children’s menu, and catering menus. The Children’s or “Young Folks” menu features an original illustration for young patrons to color over brunch. The drink menu is a pocket size sheet featuring adult beverages for day or night.

A take-home goodie

Three postcard designs layered with playful illustrations.