"Early American cuisine, timeless design & warm hospitality. The opportunity for Launch Kit to activate on all fronts; helping turn this vision into a Grand Rapids staple."
Launch Kit's office is located on Ionia Ave with our font door being home to our logo and brief description of what we do - "We create branding, websites and content for local businesses." One day a women parked out front and poked her head in saying that she had a friend opening a restaurant just down the street. She asked for a business card.
A few days later the Launch Kit office received a call from Michael, the owner of soon to be restaurant, Scholar.
We arranged a time for the Launch Kit team to walk down to the restaurant space at 11 Ionia Ave. Some might recognize this space as the old J Gardella's Tavern location, a Grand Rapids icon. The space is unique in that it's long, narrow and has three stories. Having three floors would provide the opportunity to create three unique atmospheres.
After initial conversation with the team at Scholar we landed a scope of work.
First things first, let's figure out who this restaurant is going to be. Launch Kit Graphic Designer, Michael Bova, led the first phase of the project. The mission was to develop the Scholar brand. When we say brand what do we mean? In this case we set out to identify the following:
As a team, Michael Bova led us through a series of workshops to discover the brand. We developed a stylescape to introduce visually how the brand would look.
With an agreed upon vision, Michael was then prepared to begin the logo design process. Three concepts were prepared and presented to the team. One of them being an elegant, sexy, edgy, "S" figure. With some minor revisions, we had a home run.
The logo was in place, the colors selected, the brand core established, it was then time for Launch Kit team members Mackenzie Broekstra, Noah Wyn, and Haley Riccobono to step in.
Launch Kit Web Designer, Mackenzie Broekstra met with the Scholar team to sync up on a gameplan for the website. They discussed pages, contact methods and reservation systems.
Mackenzie was able to open up the Logo Kit from the Brand Design project and find all the design elements she needed to bring the brand to life. The website was to start off simple and expand over time via Launch Kit's Web Membership Program. While the initial framework of the site was being assembled, Launch Kit Creator, Noah Wyn, hoped into produce some content.
A newly built space, elegant lighting, striking textures accompanied by first class food, this place is a content creators dream. Noah Wyn stepped into the restaurant as the first person to capture its essence. He started by documenting the architecture, focusing on photo/video media that accurately portrays the feeling of being in the space.
With the kitchen team coming along on the menu, it was then time to showcase the good stuff, Chef Taylor Boeschenstein's culinary delights. A series of photoshoots and a few taste testings outfitted the team with a bundle of media to launch their online presence.
Launch Kit Social Media Manager, Haley Riccobono stepped in to develop Scholar's Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn and Google My Business page. She was able to utilize the Logo Kit provided by Michael Bova and media from Noah Wyn.
Back in the web design department, Mackenzie was able to deck out Scholar's website beta with fresh media from Noah's shoots. The result is a website that brings to life the brand. An interactive, visual representation of the entire Brand Design project from copy writing to imagery.
Mackenzie met with the Scholar team a handful of time to finalize the details and on Friday, September 29, 2023, the website was launched.
With the Brand Design completed and the website launched, what's next? Going forward the Launch Kit team is honored to be an extension of Scholar. We continue our partnership via the Web Membership program and Content + Social Media membership program.
Mackenzie has an open line of communication with Scholar and is here to make continuous updates to the site as they introduce new menu items, events, careers, articles, and content.
Noah creates fresh photo/video content once a month.
Haley manages the restaurants digital accounts including their Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn and Google My Business page. Our current strategy is to utilize Noah's content by posting one video a week and one image/graphic per week. This consistency keeps followers up to date on what's happening a Scholar.
Launch Kit is honored to give this restaurant the opportunity to make its mark on Grand Rapids. We created our business with the mission to connect passionate people with the community around them, we feel this project has allowed us to do just that.
Special thank you to the Scholar and Launch Kit team members that have made this possible; we look forward to the road ahead.
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