Elio

Building a food brand's identity from scratch.

Elio is a Kuwait-based food company where I worked full time as Brand and Marketing Manager. Working alongside a team, I helped build the brand identity from scratch, then directed its photography, social media and graphic design day to day.

Role: Brand identity, art direction, social media and graphic design
Tools: Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, Lightroom
Year: 2021-2023
Location: Kuwait

The challenge

Building a brand identity from scratch was the biggest challenge, especially as part of a full team. Bringing everyone's ideas together into one clear, consistent look meant a lot of collaboration, and learning when to lead and when to listen.

It was also my first time working in food, which was a whole different ball game. Marketing and photographing food comes with its own rules, from styling and lighting to making a dish look as good on screen as it tastes, so it was a big learning curve for me on both fronts.

Process

01
Brand identity

Working with the team, I helped shape the logo, colour palette and typography. We chose warm, appetising colours, soft corals, sage greens and peachy tones, that complement food and give the brand an inviting, fresh feel.
02

Photography direction

A large part of my role was the creative direction of photography, split into two areas: lifestyle shots to build the brand's visual world, and menu photography to show off the food. I worked closely with photographers and videographers to keep every shoot true to the brand.
03

Social media

I managed Elio's social media, planning content and designing posts so the feed felt cohesive and recognisable at a glance.
04

Graphic design

Day to day, I handled the brand's graphic design, from post layouts and text overlays to packaging, company profile, and menu designs.

Reflection

Elio taught me how to work with food, from how it's photographed to how it's marketed. It also taught me how to work within a team of strong opinions. I took in a lot of guidance along the way, and it shaped how I approach collaboration today.

Because Elio was a new company, I had the chance to support every part of growing the brand, not just the design. Seeing it develop from the ground up was one of the most rewarding parts of the role.