Frankly Speaking: Using Marketplace finds and bringing our branding to life on a limited budget

It’s been fourteen months since we first got the keys to Two Franks and I can finally say, with some confidence, that we are only a handful of weeks from opening. 

We’ve run four successful pop-ups over the last couple of months, connecting with our community and raising some much-needed funds. 

Our last pop-up fell the week before Easter, after which we closed the doors and took some time to enjoy some calm before this last dash to the finish line. 

We’ve resigned ourselves to the fact that such long delays and such a diminished budget means we won’t be opening looking like we had originally dreamed, but we’re going to be clever, scrappy and full of heart to win our community over, regardless. 

We’ve been picking up Marketplace finds, painting walls, and fixing window frames, all with our own hands. The only trade we’ve gotten in is a plumber (and we would’ve even been keen to give that a go if we could!). 

But just because we can’t look like we want inside the building, doesn’t mean we can’t at least look as good as we possibly can to the outside world. 

For the past year, we’ve been getting by with some self-produced branding, which has done the job thus far and had us looking clean and tidy both online and in print. But there’s great strength in knowing where your weaknesses lie. 

I am not a graphic designer. We were desperately in need of outsourcing our creative needs to someone much more experienced and talented. We have big plans for this business and our branding needed to match our vision.

As we finally had some (modest) revenue coming in, we decided it was time to invest in some brand-new branding.

Creating a design brief

Firstly, we started by collecting references of places and branding that we loved. We had long ago settled on green as our colour —  this was not only a tie to our family’s olive tree and Mediterranean heritage, but also because removing the wall tiles at the butcher shop had revealed an invaluable patina, with flecks of old green paint that hinted at its past. 

Stylistically, we wanted something that felt both modern and nostalgic, that respected the history of the building and our memories of it. Finally, we had come to the decision that not only would Two Franks be a cafe, but a general store, too, and we needed this reflected in the design.

Finding the right designer 

Rather than going through a design agency, we wanted to find a local designer to tackle this. Independent graphic designers, in my opinion, tend to be more appreciative, enthusiastic and personable to work with. Plus, being a small business supporting someone else’s small business just feels good. 

I started scanning Instagram, finding local brands whose designs I loved and tracking down their creatives. A handful of local Melbourne designers came up and after some deliberation, we narrowed it down to two options, asking for quotes from both.

The quotes came back almost identical in price, so the difference and choice came down to the persistence of one designer over the other — they genuinely wanted to work on this project, and their enthusiasm was contagious. The Two Franks branding has been completed by local designer Sam Merrigan who has a passion for working on creative for hospitality and lifestyle brands.  

After picking the concept we liked, we settled on our design and it ticked all the boxes: modern but nostalgic, simple but stylish.

After a year of living life with our piecemeal Two Franks designs, this new branding is a breath of fresh air. It feels like a new era for this project, a step in the right direction, a step towards the business we know we can be. 

Some might say this logo is too simple, too underwhelming, but in branding, simple can often be best. A simple design lends itself to more applications and means we can be more creative with it down the track. 

We’re taking our branding step-by-step. Would it be ideal to get custom coffee cups, packaging, takeaway bags and packing tape from the get-go? Absolutely. But we have to be realistic. For now, we’ll work within our budget and be smart. We can always polish later, but we have to make sure we can get up and running and open our doors first. 

We have so many design ideas ahead and this is just the beginning. Watch this space. 

Chryssie Swarbrick is a writer, small-business-juggler and mum of two. She is currently documenting her adventures in opening a cafe, Two Franks, opposite her childhood home.