The Open Box is a brand-new boardgame cafe for all ages. It is a fun and friendly location with an extensive library of boardgames for all levels of enthusiasts. They needed a full branding package including a logo design and brand guidelines. The following is the full package delivered to the client for their reference.
If you want to play something quick and easy with a big group of friends or go head to head with a competitor in a multi-hour larger game, The Open Box has it all! With a menu as great as the boardgame collection, The Open Box is the perfect place to spend an afternoon any day of the week. Offering many classic cafe items, you’ll find the perfect snack or delicious drink to keep you satisfied while playing! Roll the dice, draw a card, enjoy a coffee, and have fun at The Open Box.
When creating the logo for The Open Box, it was very important to find the right balance between a fun and friendly logo, and one that is still clean and professional. The focus is less on the cafe aspect and more on the essence of a boardgame on a table. With this concept, the container acts as the table but also helps contain the logo since the text is more playful. The customized font is bold and chunky to be recognizable from a distance, and angling the letters gives the logo movement while representing how a boardgame would be set up on a table. Incorporating the cutout elements of the meeple in the E and X is a subtle way to add another boardgame aspect to the logo. With the use of the dropdown shadow, the meeple head in the X is duplicated, which symbolizes playing a game with others. With all of these elements put together, it creates a cohesive logo that represents The Open Box and what you can expect when entering.
The primary logo is the main identifier that people will associate with The Open Box. This logo needs to convey the feel and encompass what The Open Box is like. People should get a sense of what to expect when entering the cafe just from the logo itself. This is the logo that will appear in most places such as the storefront and stationary.
Secondary logos allow the logo to be used in every scenario without losing it’s identification. No matter which place the logo is used it should still be recognizable as The Open Box.
It is important to follow the guide of logo limitations to ensure that the logo is the same across all usages. This includes ensuring the logo has the same dimensions and colours anywhere that it appears to keep recognizability high.
It is important always to use the brand colours across all areas. This keeps the brand cohesive and ensures all elements such as the logo and assets will always match. The colours chosen are all complementary to each other and provide great contrast between themselves and the primary logo colours.
Assets are a great supplementary way of adding to designs and the brand. They vary from illustrated elements to patterns used across various platforms. The illustrated assets focus on boardgame elements that can be used in the background of social posts, on the website, in the cafe, etc. The pattern blends all assets making it a perfect and playful choice to use throughout various areas and designs.
There’s no better way to get a feel for a brand than to see the whole thing put together in some real-world examples! These are some scenarios in which the brand guidelines can be used to create cohesive content for The Open Box. When making sure the same colours, fonts, and logos are used it makes the brand come together. These guidelines can be applied to a wide variety of uses, all resulting in the same brand feel.