Designing a pop-up space and social media strategy for Baltimore's newest food hall

R. House is a food hall and launchpad for culinary concepts in Baltimore, MD. I worked as a Marketing & Design Strategy intern to design brand guidelines, create digital / social media strategy and materials, and develop the design of pop-up stall leading up to grand opening (fall 2016).

Designing the Pop-up

Logo Development
Before designing the facade, I created a logo for the pop-up stall. This logo needed to be clean and legible from the front door entrance of R. House and reflect the modern style of the space. In addition, the logo could not interfere with the various styles of the surrounding (soon-to-be) restaurant concepts.

Developing the facade
I leveraged my love for interior design to create a customizable pop-up stall. The process of designing this space involved market research on other food halls and other semi-pop up markets around the country. To better understand the needs of the chefs who would be using the popup space, I synthesized insights from past interviews with potential clients and discussed the needs of the R. House staff with the General Manager. Insights gathered included:

1. Chefs want the creative freedom and opportunity to explore new branding for their restaurant, but often have little budget to do so
2. Pop-up chefs could be at different stages in their process, meaning the development of their brand could vary from exploratory to fully developed.
3. R. House staff needed a signage system with a seamless and quick transition time (as some pop-ups will only be up for a day or two)
4. The design needed to be blend in with its surroundings, because at time the stall would not be occupied

Solution
After various experiments in temporary signage, I proposed three facade options:

1. Attaching small shelved where owners could prop up anything from marquee letters to posters
2. Using a large metal facade to attach signage and branding
3. Leveraging the versatility of a black metal grid to attach anywhere from one to three pieces of branded materials

Brand Guidelines

To help R. House deliver a cohesive brand to both local and national customers, I developed a set of brand guidelines. These guidelines included:

• Primary & Secondary typeface suggestions for marketing materials and in house events
• Additional color palettes (as the original palette and logo was previously designed)
• Usage rules
• Tone of voice to be used in all written materials
• Social media & email marketing guidelines

Email & Social Media Marketing

I conducted secondary research of the target market and leveraged previous demand research to develop a marketing plan specifically aimed at engaging those customers. This included visual brand guides for social media representation, tone, and content that varied depending on the platform. Additionally, I created the design and content structure for monthly email blasts (sample shown below).