Hummus Labs

creative direction, transmedia design, corporate identity, branding, print, web, screen, photography, marketing, accessibility, ada compliance

The Hummus Labs brand was designed with the goals of accessibility, legibility, and future expandability. The client wanted his Mediterranean restaurant's branding to reflect a minimal, sterile, comfortable, and timeless look and feel, all while being easy to read and expandable with the addition of other locations. As this particular restaurant concept was a passion project for him it was important to signify the expansion of his brand in a meaningful way. Another key element of the brand identity was inclusion for those with visual impairments. Utilizing high contrast and minimal color palette we focused on a highly legible logotype and an accessible user experience with his brand elements at the forefront. 

Branding

concept development

Brand Goals

attributes

accessible

legible

expandable

minimal

sterile

comfortable

look & feel

timeless

clinical

laboratory

mathematics

physics

chemistry

The Hummus Labs brand concept was created with the intention of being a laboratory for Chef Joseph Badaro to experiment with Lebanese inspired Mediterranean cuisine. When considering Mediterranean food most overlook Lebanese cuisine and think of Greek, Egyptian, Turkish, or Israeli food. Hummus Labs seeks to change the perception of Mediterranean food in the market by elevating traditional Lebanese cuisine with modern flavors and cooking techniques. Taking inspiration from restaurant laboratory experiments we incorporated mathematical and scientific design language into the branding.

Brand Inspiration

parabolic equation - shawarma solor oven

chemical balancing - caramelization of sugar

recipe scaling arithmetic - by serving size

Logotype DNA

The Hummus Labs logotype was created with Clarendon and Neue Haas Grotesk. The two fonts have a bold assertive appearance while providing a timeless look that conveys cleanliness, elegance, and simplicity. When the high contrast and abstract shapes of Clarendon are combined with the minimalist and geometric shapes of Neue Haas Grotesk an objective yet humanistic characteristic is achieved. 

Clarendon Bold

Slab Serif, Egyptian

Neue Haas Grotesk Bold

Sans Serif, Neo-grotesque

Brand Concept

The “(Labs)1” portion of the brand name is a take on the practical application of parentheses, superscripts, and subscripts used in the maths of chemistry, physics, and laboratory experiments. The superscript 1 is meant to signify the first restaurant location while providing an avenue for the sequential addition of 2, 3, and so forth as the owner opens more locations.

Branding

identity + guidelines

Brand Usage

The Hummus Labs logotype is only reproduced in black and white. To create the highest contrast ratio of the brand possible a black on white or white on black color scheme is preferred. The logo may also be reproduced over secondary light gray, wood, white subway tile, and black subway tile listed in the brand textures.

When referring to the brand in written form, drop the parenthesis and superscript 1.  Ex. Hummus Labs redefines the meaning of Mediterranean food with their Lebanese inspired cuisine.

Black on White

White on Black 

Black on White Subway Tile Texture

White on Black Subway Tile Texture

White on Secondary Light Gray

White on Wood Texture

Brand Clear Space

The clear space is found by measuring the width from serif to serif of the lowercase Clarendon “u” in the Hummus Labs logotype. Add the measurement above and below the Neue Haas Grotesk parenthesis “()”, to the left of the serifs in the uppercase Clarendon “H”, and to the right of the serif in the superscript “1”. This clear space measurement can be adapted to any reproduction size of the logotype.

Brand Clear Space - Print Example

Brand Clear Space - Web Example

Brand Typography

With a focus on accessibility at the forefront of all brand interactions, Hummus Labs required a typeface with a large character set in a variety of weights and multi-language support. Neue Haas Grotesk was chosen as the typeface to be used in all typographic applications of the brand as it met all three requirements. To bring primary focus on headline elements and menu items the weight of 75 Bold is to be used in all typesetting applications. All supporting typographic elements are to be typeset in the weight of 45 Light and 46 Italic Light.

Neue Haas Grotesk Light

Sans Serif, Neo-grotesque

Neue Haas Grotesk Bold

Sans Serif, Neo-grotesque

Neue Haas Grotesk - 45 Light

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

1234567890(,./!@#$%^&*\-_+=)

Neue Haas Grotesk - 46 Light Italic

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

1234567890(,./!@#$%^&*\-_+=)

Neue Haas Grotesk - 75 Bold

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

1234567890(,./!@#$%^&*\-_+=)

Typography - Web Guidelines - px

H1 - 96/100 

Neue Haas Grotesk 75 Bold 

H2 - 50/64

Neue Haas Grotesk

75 Bold

H3 - 24/48 Neue Haas Grotesk 75 Bold

H4 - 24/48 Neue Haas Grotesk 75 Bold

P - 18/32 Neue Haas Grotesk 45 Light

P - 18/32 Neue Haas Grotesk 45 Light

Typography - Print Menu Guidelines - pt

Headings, Menu Sections

16/18 - Neue Haas Grotesk 75 Bold

Menu Items

12/14 - Neue Haas Grotesk 75 Bold

Paragraph, Supporting Text

10/14 - Neue Haas Grotesk 45 Light

Paragraph, Supporting Text

10/14 - Neue Haas Grotesk 46 Light Italic

Typography - Screen Menu Guidelines - pt

Headings, Menu Sections

40/48 - Neue Haas Grotesk 75 Bold

Menu Items

26/30 - Neue Haas Grotesk 75 Bold

Paragraph, Supporting Text

24/30 - Neue Haas Grotesk 45 Light

Paragraph, Supporting Text

24/30 - Neue Haas Grotesk 46 Light Italic

Brand Colors / Textures

A minimal color palette was created as a way to make the brand more accessible in practical applications. With consideration for visual impairments at the forefront of the brand experience we focused on the single color blue, plus black, white, and gray tones for the color palette. Black and white being the primary color palette. A series of textures utilized in the interior design of the restaurant was also added for safe use with the identity. Textures should be used sparingly as a graphical element.

Color Palette

Primary - Black

hex: 0c0c0c

rgb: 12/12/12

cmyk: 0/0/0/98

Primary - White

hex: ffffff

rgb: 255/255/255

cmyk: 0/0/0/0

Secondary - Light Gray

hex: f6f6f6

rgb: 246/246/246

cmyk: 0/0/0/2

pantone: Cool Gray 1C

Secondary - Mid Gray

hex: adaeaf

rgb: 173/174/175

cmyk: 33/26/26/0

pantone: Cool Gray 6C

Secondary - Dark Gray

hex: 646d68

rgb: 100/101/106

cmyk: 61/52/49/20

pantone: 425 C

Tertiary - Blue

hex: 2673dc

rgb: 38/115/220

cmyk: 80/55/0/0

pantone: 285 C

Texture Palette

Velvet Fabric

color: Navy Blue

Subway Tile

color: Black, White

Hexagon Tile

color: Black, White

Stainless Steel

Cement

Wood

Brand Photography

Hummus Labs brand photographs must be taken inside the restaurant during the daytime when the most natural lighting fills up the room. All menu items should be depicted as they would appear if you were inside the restaurant eating the dish yourself. The platters and sides must be photographed in the same containers the dish will be served in. Framing of the photographs should be focused on the food with low depth of field, making use of overhead shots and dynamic angles with the dish taking focal point.

Print Design

brand assets

Paper Menus

branding, print design

The Mediterranean diet is one of the most healthy in the world so it felt appropriate to go with tall and slender design for Hummus Labs menu. The brand menus are printed in only black on Neenah Classic Crest - Antique Grey Smooth paper. The Hummus Labs menu is printed on the 24 lb. writing stock, the Catering and Chef’s Table menus are printed on 80 lb. cover stock.

To-Go Bags

branding, print design, flexography

When grabbing to-go food no one enjoys the experience of hot items going cold and vice versa. So we created two to-go bag designs in order to separate cold and hot items with the ultimate goal of keeping the whole order at the intended temperature. The black bag is for cold items and the white bag is for hot items. We created them in two sizes to support large and small orders while minimizing paper waste. 

Employee Attire

branding, print design, screen printing

Stationery

branding, print design

Catering Van

branding, print design, vinyl wrap

Screen Design

brand assets

Screen Menus

branding, screen design.

UI / UX Design

website

Website

branding, web design, ada compliance

The Hummus Labs website was designed with the goal of being compliant with The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and accessible to those with visual impairments. Utilizing a high contrast, minimal color palette, and minimal graphics in the design, we focused on a user experience centered around the use of screen readers such as macOS and iOS Voice Over. Many features of modern web designs including graphics such as rules or patterns are either non focusable by screen readers or create a roadblock in the user experience for the website visitor. We stripped away all unnecessary components of the website design in order to create a unified user experience for both sighted and visually impaired visitors.

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