FeATHER’S RUN RESTAURANT
When you think of a movie-themed diner, you might think of a cheesy theme park restaurant with mediocre food. But imagine a restaurant loosely inspired by a movie, with subtle nods to the film and homemade, delicious food. What’s better than good food and real-life easter eggs? That was the goal when I created the concept for Feather’s Run, a Forrest Gump-inspired restaurant.
Trying to stay away from the gimmicky movie restaurant was a big obstacle,
and what I saw as the most essential part of my approach.
It forced me to think a lot more creatively in my research— to be visually inspired and not imitate.
I learned real fast that I had to pull abstract elements to visually imply the movie, rather than more literal elements. What made this a little easier though, was that my concept pulled away from the typical “Bubba Gump Shrimp” approach, where it’s appearance makes you smell shrimp (no offense, Bubba Gump). I wanted to take a more elevated approach.
Font studies
Hand-drawn serif tests
Initial hand-drawn test of chosen font
Final hand-drawn logo from font before digitization
The name is a nod to the movie’s symbolism to float through the wind and “run Forrest, run.” Instead of going too “Southern mother” and choosing a well-written handwriting font, I chose an elegant script with high stroke contrast, redrawn to fit a logo better, and paired with a stamp-like font, that created that elevated “southern home fancy” feeling that I was going for. That feeling would be embodied in the restaurant itself. I brought in a little Gump with a color palette reminiscent of Forrest’s iconic khakis and blue plaid shirt.
Customers feel that
Southern hospitality
in this restaurant.
They get to write down their favorite recipes on a card that comes in the menu and hang it up on a wall in the restaurant, where the recipe might get picked for the restaurant’s recipe of the week. Shrimp gumbo on the menu in memory of “Benjamin Buford” is probably the most outright nod to Bubba Gump Shrimp.
Still, you can’t forget the “y'all come back now” 3-piece complimentary box of chocolates at the end of your meal because, well, you know the line.
The final printed piece is on speckletone paper, with the drink menu and recipe cards placed on the inside of the trifold menu. The entire thing clips together with a blue wooden clothespin, ready for the customer to have the experience of a lifetime.
