New York Grilled Cheese

Creative Direction | Design | Illustration

New York Grilled Cheese is an innovative fast-casual grilled cheese restaurant on a mission to take comfort food to the next level. Once a failed frozen yogurt shop, the dining destination was beginning to thrive but the interior remained cold and uninviting. The marketing in store lacked cohesion. I quickly became a fan and began waiting tables part-time (mostly for the free sandwiches), which allowed me to experience the company culture first-hand and really get to know the customers. After a few months, I was given the chance to design posters for a new product. The owner was pleased with the final art. “I didn’t know it could look this good.” My response? “It will only get better.”

In 2014 New York Grilled Cheese had little more than a name, a logo, and a handful of fonts. By 2018 they had won multiple awards and a second location was under construction. Establishing a unified visual identity became a priority with the build-out. After years of internalizing a loose set of NYGC design project rules, it was time to strategically evolve those ideas and assemble a visual playbook. The guidelines I established helped shape the brand’s visual identity as one that is modern yet nostalgic, hip, playful, and a little bit ‘cheesy’.

**COLORS**
I updated the yellows in the original logo to more vibrant buttery and cheesy tones. I based the brand’s secondary color palette on menu items – melty cheese, savory sauces, toasty breads, and warming tomato bisque, then added in the greys for a cool contrast when called for.

**FONTS**
The initial fonts used to market NYGC were Helvetica and a novelty font called “Grilled Cheese.” There was want for something more mature, approachable and retro. I chose Gotham as the primary font for it’s modern and clean appearance. The script font, Bhatoshine adds a bit of friendly bounciness that also gives a nod to a 50’s brush font.

**PATTERN**
The owner wanted to incorporate names of their core menu items and some elements that called back to the city – “I 🧀 NYGC”, and the empire state building with King Kong eating a grilled cheese, the Statue of Liberty, taxi cab, and newspaper. I even got inspiration ‘from the Museum of Natural History to incorporate the dinosaurs. Other elements like the unicorns were just fun adds. I thought, “New York City is ‘magical’ so why not add an element of magic here?” My next thought was “What if these sandwiches are such a magical rarity that even a unicorn would want to eat one?” That idea stuck and led to writing the tagline “The Magic is in The Melt.”

**BRIE WAFFLETON**
From “Grilled Cheese Mom” to Brie Waffleton. I worked with the owner to develop the mascot character who would become the face of the brand. To keep in line with the retro nostalgia and add a bit of wholesomeness, I took inspiration from popular 50’s tv housewives like June Cleaver and Lucy Ricardo. To add a bit of attitude and drama I also drew from 50’s pinups like Marilyn Monroe and the bigger bouffant hair styles from the 60s.

Personified by Daisy Deadpetal, Brie Waffleton made her debut at the 4-year anniversary party – It was really cool to see the character come to life!

Testimonial

Brandy is a major part of the New York Grilled Cheese Co. Brand. Her out-of-the-box imagination, and impeccable level of detail and attention that she puts into her work, is second to none. She has managed to consistently produce the highest quality ads, and almost all of our branding, from soup to nuts (no-pun). If anyone ever asks me who does all of our branding, I won't tell them about Brandy, because I want her all to NYGC!!!! AMAZING WORK!

– Leor Barak, New York Grilled Cheese Owner & Founder

In Store Design

Creative Direction | Design | Illustration

The flagship location’s interior was remodeled in 2021. The wall insets and the counters were removed. It was no longer apparent that it was once a yogurt shop. The visual identity I created helped drive the design of the interior. I created wall art for the new build-out along with signage.

Before the Renovation: