BRAND STUDIO
A six-venue hospitality group’s first in-house creative studio: built from scratch, with no agencies and no stock photos.
As Brand Manager and Creative Director, I was headhunted from an agency to set up an in-house creative studio for a South African hospitality group. I gave each of its six venues, a brewery, roadhouse, fusion eatery, cantina, bakery and farm, its own distinct brand and voice. We designed, wrote, photographed and illustrated everything in-house, using original assets only.
PROBLEM
Six venues, six fragmented brands, and a heavy reliance on outside agencies.
SOLUTION
An in-house studio that built six distinct brand systems and made every customer-facing asset itself, from menus to packaging, signage, illustration, photography and video.
BEHIND THE WORK
Challenges & Wins
I started with a blank page: no studio, no team and six very different businesses, each needing its own voice, but all feeling like part of one family. The farm and bakery brands, for example, had to tell the story of the group’s farm-to-table supply chain.
We made 100% of the customer-facing work in-house: menus, packaging, signage, illustrations, photography and video direction. I took the photographs and drew the illustrations myself. No agencies, no stock images.
I also hired an intern with copy and design skills, trained her, and watched her become our full-time Junior Designer and Copywriter. When the work was done, the client had a permanent, self-sufficient team.
The wins: the group moved completely away from outside agencies and saved money for good. Foot traffic and profits went up across all six venues.
