HWY68
Brand Identity → Mobile Concept.
Brand identity and mobile UX for a working eatery.
Most designers research the owner's pressure. I've been that owner.
Role & Scope
Solo Designer
Brand Identity & Strategy
Observational Audience Research
Mobile UI Concept
Web Experience
Deliverables
Logo System
Value Cards
QR Touchpoints
Mobile Info Screens
Tools
Figma
Procreate
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Photoshop
Client
Local café owners Brenda & Donna
Timeline
Brand project: 4 weeks · August 2024
Mobile concept: Next-step extension
The 20-Second Blueprint
01 From Scratch
No logo, no website, nothing online. I built the visual identity first, then used it as the base for a mobile info concept.
02 Road-Tested
Built for customers deciding whether to stop in from their phone: menu, hours, specials, and visit details.
03 Next Step
A working café, not a mockup. I designed around real customers, changing menus, the owner's workload, budget, and local foot traffic.
The Brief
Build one visual system that works everywhere, from a sign read at 55 mph to a phone screen in your hand.
High-Contrast
Readable at speed or on a small screen.
Scalable
One system across sign, card, QR touchpoint, and mobile UI.
Community-Grounded
Local and independent, not chain-café generic.
Action-Oriented
Built to help people decide to stop.
The Constraints
Real café, real limits: changing info, small budget, and tools that had to stay easy to maintain.
- A working café, not a blank-slate concept.
- A menu and hours that change.
- Owners who needed simple, low-maintenance tools.
- A small-business budget.
- Two ways in: roadside discovery and local foot traffic.
- Customers decide fast, often in seconds.
The Route
The plan to get HWY68 from roadside to phone screen. Three moves, in order.
Establish the Visual Anchor
A logo, color, and type system strong enough for a roadside sign and a phone screen.
Bridge Physical to Digital
Carry signage, value cards, and QR touchpoints into a mobile-first structure.
Optimize for Discovery
Put the decision info first: menu, hours, specials, location, visit details.
The Starting Line
HWY68 had loyal locals and roadside traffic, but no clear brand or online presence. New customers couldn't find the café or check the menu, hours, or specials before pulling in. The work started as a brand identity and marketing system. The mobile concept is the next-step extension, built to get that info into a customer's hand before they arrive.
One System, Every Surface
What Changed
Recognition
A scattered local look became one recognizable brand.
Reuse
The identity could carry across cards, QR touchpoints, signage, and mobile screens.
Clarity
Key customer information had a consistent place to live.
Small-Business Fit
The system worked without an expensive or complicated build.
I started with the eatery's real limits: a small budget, changing menu and hours, owners new to tech, and customers deciding in seconds. I recognized every one of those constraints. I've run a business on exactly that margin. So the work was less about making a pretty brand and more about building a system the owners could actually run.
Working the Limits
01 Small Budget
Every decision had to stretch the budget.
A reusable asset system, not a new build for every piece.
02 No Visibility
Barely visible from the highway, no system to bring locals back.
Value and referral cards, signage, and QR prompts.
03 Owner Upkeep
The owners run the café, not software.
Simple, owner-friendly touchpoints they can maintain.
The Route I Took
Reading the Map
I needed to understand what the café actually was, what customers needed to notice fast, and what the owners could realistically keep up with. The look came after that, not before. Before designing, I checked:
The Café
What kind of place is this?
Local, handmade, warm. A roadside café that lives its motto: From Scratch. With Love.
The Reality
What had to work in real life?
Small budget, owner-run upkeep, physical touchpoints first, digital later.
The Customers
What do people need to grasp fast?
What it is, why stop, where it is, and what brings them back.
Who's Stopping In
The Local Mom, 37
Homemaker & Homeschooler
Comes for
A friendly place to catch up with other moms.
Needs
Kid-friendly seating, good food, fair prices.
Design Takeaway
Make it feel familiar fast, so she comes back.
The Retired Regular, 73
Retired Accountant
Comes for
Affordable, home-style meals and a familiar face.
Needs
Menus and daily specials he can check on his phone.
Design Takeaway
Put the specials one tap away on mobile.
The Biking Tourist, 50
Electrician
Comes for
Good food and coffee without leaving the route.
Needs
Fast service, safe bike parking, info at a glance.
Design Takeaway
Put the key info up front so he decides fast.
3 Customer Interviews.
Scouting the Route
Nearby spots had recognition HWY68 didn't. I checked four local food businesses for visibility, brand clarity, and opportunities for HWY68 to win.
01 Visibility was the gap
HWY68 sat on a highway with the traffic to match, but didn't read as a brand at a glance.
02 Warmth was the edge
Its handmade, local feel already held up against bigger, better-known spots.
03 Brand consistency was the opening
Competitors won on recognition: murals, merch, prime locations. HWY68 needed one repeatable system to match it.
Working competitive analysis
The Look That Sticks
Warmth
Brown grounds the system in coffee, food, and comfort.
Quick Recognition
Pink became the color people catch first, from the road or the shelf.
Handmade Feel
The script and hand-drawn details keep it human, without making the system hard to repeat.
Built to Be Used
The brand had to do more than look good on paper. Each piece was built to do one job: get HWY68 noticed, bring people back, turn regulars into referrals, and keep the connection going after they leave.
Business cards and QR code
One tap to the café online, so the connection doesn't stop at the counter.
Seen From the Road
Built to be seen at a distance, so first-time drivers notice and pull in. Of course, to-go cups.
Easy to Keep Going
The owners needed a system they could keep using after the first design round. I documented the basics so that new pieces stay consistent without having to start from scratch.
01 Colors Documented
Future materials stay recognizable as HWY68.
02 Type Choices Set
The brand stays readable and consistent across pieces.
03 Assets Organized
Cards, signs, templates, and future mobile pieces all connect.
The Next Mile
The branding answered the storefront. The phone was the next gap. I designed a mobile concept that puts the menu, hours, specials, and visit info in a customer's hand before they pull in, the same fast decision a driver makes at 55 mph, now answered on a screen.
Concept extension, not original client scope.
Home
Menu
Specials
Visit Details
What's this place?
What can I order?
What's good today?
Where are they?
The Long Haul
What I learned
The real lesson wasn't "branding matters." It was that the budget and the owners' comfort level shaped every decision. A small budget pushed me toward a single reusable system rather than one-off pieces. Owners new to tech meant the work had to run without me. Mobile was the logical next step because the brand solved the storefront but left the phone, where customers now decide before they ever pull in.
What I'd test next
Whether drivers can find the menu and hours in under 20 seconds on the concept screens.
If the rewards and Bring-a-Friend cards actually drive repeat visits, measured, not assumed.
How well the owners can update the specials themselves without breaking the layout.
