Brand · Marketing · Creative
FUEL Coffeehouse & Kitchen
Building a brand from the kitchen up.
The brief
A business in its own right.
FUEL was to be a new café business. The owner already had the name and the idea. My job was to turn that idea into a brand people could see, understand and want to visit.
Sitting inside a local community gym, the café needed to complement but not disappear inside the surrounding space. It needed its own customers, personality and offer, serving everyone from gym members looking for post-workout nutrition to passers-by meeting for coffee or picking up lunch.
Concept development
Finding its own place.
The early work explored how FUEL could relate to Instinct while becoming a clear identity in its own right. It needed enough connection to feel at home in the gym, without looking like a service only for gym members.
That exploration created the foundation for a warmer, more food-led brand with the confidence to stand independently.
Creating the identity
Distinctive at every scale.
Starting with the existing FUEL name, I created a complete visual identity for the business.
The central logo combines a plate, spoon and fork with a strong, condensed wordmark. It gave FUEL a distinctive visual device that could work across large-scale signage, menus, loyalty cards, vouchers and digital channels.
I built the wider identity around bold typography, natural colours, food-led imagery and simple, practical layouts. The result felt energetic and contemporary, while giving FUEL a character of its own.
Finding the right balance
Healthy, without feeling worthy.
The challenge was to make healthy food feel appealing. FUEL needed to communicate nutrition and wellbeing without feeling clinical or too focused on fitness.
It had to feel fresh and energetic, but also warm, sociable and genuinely delicious — somewhere you would choose to visit whether you had just finished a workout or had never set foot in a gym.
More than a logo
A brand that worked everywhere.
A brand only really works when it works everywhere. I partnered with the owner to develop the identity across the full customer experience: food and drink menus, takeaway materials, internal and external signage, A-boards, counter displays, promotional vouchers, loyalty cards, website content and social media assets.
Healthy food, deliciously served.
The proposition captured the balance we were trying to achieve. FUEL took nutrition seriously, but it never forgot that food should taste good.
Making the brand work
Thinking made real.
By the end of the project, FUEL had much more than a collection of attractive materials. It had a clear proposition, a recognisable identity and a practical brand system that could grow with the business.
The experience felt consistent wherever customers encountered it, from the roadside A-board and café fridge to the website, menu, social channels and loyalty card. Five years later, the FUEL identity and business remained strong within the local community.
What I delivered
From proposition to every touchpoint.
- Brand identity and logo design
- Creative direction
- Messaging and tone of voice
- Website copy
- Food and drink menus
- Shake and smoothie menus
- Internal and external signage
- A-boards and counter displays
- Promotional vouchers
- Customer loyalty cards
- Social media assets
- Campaign materials
