How Do You Make a New Food Truck Park Stand Out?

Build a brand that isn't just about food.

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How Do You Make a New Food Truck Park Stand Out?

Build a brand that isn't just about food.

Spark (2016)

branding & WEB DESIGN

Background

Food truck parks and food halls are popping up in every city each promising a wide variety of trucks to choose from. The SOMA StrEAT Food Park was one of the first to turn food truck parks into an engaging experience in San Francisco.

Their first location featured unique seating areas like a barn and a converted school bus with classic midway games sprinkled throughout the park. Hosting theme nights, concerts, and movie nights turned their first location into San Francisco's culinary carnival and urban playground.

The SOMA StrEAT Food Park came to Plinth to build a brand and web presence for their unbuilt 2nd location in San Francisco's burgeoning Mission Bay neighborhood.

This time around the space would feature with fire pits for people to gather around. They named this new space Spark.

Not Just A food truck park

A neighborhood block party.

Not Just A food truck park

A neighborhood block party.

SOMA StrEAT Food Park started with the name Spark and a logo created by LMOP Design but needed to establish a brand position, design direction, and web presence that could differentiate Spark from other food truck parks and food halls.

We started by speaking with owner Carlos Muela. We dug deep into what he was passionate about and why he was creating these food truck parks. From there we were able uncover Spark's core values and develop a brand position that would be unique and compelling:

Spark Community

Create community by building a place for people to engage and bond over a great time.

Support the little guy

Champion the independent spirit of small business.

Create Unique moments

Use creativity to help create unique and memorable moments for people.

Don't hate, collaborate

Spark believes in sharing ideas and finding ways to work together for the benefit of all.

We positioned Spark as a "Neighborhood Block Party" because a unique outdoor space like this is so much more than just food trucks. It's a place that helps build community by providing a multi-faceted space where people can gather and the support small local businesses. The Neighborhood Block Party position encompasses the core values we uncovered while bringing back the sense of community spirit lacking in many of today's growing cities.

“Spark isn’t providing urbanites a place to buy food, it’s providing them a community space to gather, enjoy, and bond.”

— Marco Jastillana, Plinth Brand Strategist

How do Create an engaging online presence for a place that doesn't exist yet?

Create illustrations with the feeling and promise of what's to come.

How do Create an engaging online presence for a place that doesn't exist yet?

Create illustrations with the feeling and promise of what's to come.

Today's web culture is extremely visual. Photos and videos reign supreme. Our challenge was to communicate all that Spark was to be without the use of any photography because the space was not yet completed.

Rather than staging a photoshoot showing would be customers, we decided to create custom illustrations with iconic Mission Bay scenery.

CHOOSING THE PERFECT DESIGN DIRECTION

Taking inspiration from bonfires, Girl Scouts and Urban Glamping.

CHOOSING THE PERFECT DESIGN DIRECTION

Taking inspiration from bonfires, Girl Scouts and Urban Glamping.

Part of what makes Spark so unique are its fire pits. Spark will have multiple fire pits with seating throughout the area. Eating and gathering around a fire evokes memories of bonfires and camping with close friends. Our design direction took inspiration from camping, scouting, and Urban Glamping.

Our illustrations drew references to Boy / Girl Scouts and camp fires to help elicit nostalgic feelings of gathering together.

The use of wood panels and the color ways we chose were inspired elements popular in Urban Glamping. We incorporated these modern elements to balance the nostalgia of bonfires and camping.

Merit badge icons were a perfect way to highlight key features of Spark while reinforcing our theme. We created badges for the different informational sections of the home page as well as the unique seating areas that are available.