Monty’s Good Burger
Illustration, Art Direction, Creative Direction
Logo, Menu, Stores, Truck, Merchandise, Digital, Promotional
Dog Head Logo
Monty is a real life dog that was rescued from the streets of Riverside, CA. Monty is the inspiration (and CEO) of Monty’s Good Burger.
I was asked to design the logo and it was requested that the logo include Monty and a burger together somehow. Over the next few days I’d think about ways to to arrange a dog and a burger in a logo: one next to the other, the dog body wrapped around the burger? I wondered, “what would happen if it was just Monty’s head and I put the burger in his mouth? That would maximize each of them so that would work well for a logo BUT would people think it’s burgers for dogs, or think that a dog was sneaking a bite off someone’s burger? Would that make the logo more memorable?”
I pulled up reference photos of Monty: a white schnauzer / poodle mix who us very shaggy and fuzzy. After a few sketches I figured out that just using Monty’s head would work the best because I could put the level of detail into the fur required for his face not to look flat or indistinguishable.
I decided at this stage that the color scheme should pull from the colors of the burger in his mouth: brown meat, green lettuce, yellow cheese, red tomato. After drawing his face, I chose to put the burger+dog design in a blue circle to provide contrast around the white fur.
The logotype needed to be hand-drawn as well to match the loose organic vibe of the doghead. Once I balanced the logotype on its own I assembled the complete logo, top to bottom.
Lastly, I performed exercises to ensure that the logo would be successful in different colorways and sizes. For example, I added a brown border to the blue circle to keep the shape when making one color prints.
“So… what do you want to eat?”
I continued with the color scheme and hand-drawn old-fashioned theme from the logo to create illustrations of the food items and compliment them with painter’s lettering.
Illustrations are not only helpful for guests but it’s also an opportunity to for them to experience the brand. It can be clean but it doesn’t have to be boring. A little personality is okay.
We developed a blue gingham pattern to suggest “farm fresh ingredients” which reenforces our brand promise. We began to consider how the gingham would work in-store and decided that it should be included on the menu.
After Joaquin Phoenix won the coveted Oscar for Best Actor, he made a pit stop at Monty's Good Burger to celebrate.
Photo by Greg Williams.
Store Designs
I rely on the operations team to provide clarity on limitations at each location. I walk the location and take measurements, and lots of reference images of textures, fixtures, handles, flooring as well as images from nearby traffic perspectives and note any sightline obstructions or hidden opportunities.
I draft a to-scale 2D floor plan as well as a paint and signage plan. I present to the team and work through iterations. Once that is complete and if time allows, I’ll make 3D renders of the approved 2D draft.
A big benefit of 3D renders is it allows me to produce signage and wall graphics that could go straight into production as soon as the 3D plan is approved.
This saves lots of time while giving me a chance to experiment with last minute design ideas before items are produced and installed.
Some things I leave up to chance. When possible, I lean on artist, Constantin Le Fou to wheat paste some of his Vegan Club posters to break things up and add some street art flavor to our rooms.
At this time, there are five Monty’s Good Burgers all located in southern California (in order of opening date): Riverside, Koreatown, Echo Park, 3rd Street, and Culver City. There’s a food truck too. There are plans to open more stores soon. Read the Forbes article about expansion here.
Monty's provided the umbrellas to those waiting in the rain to order at the first location in Koreatown.
Store Locations
Culver City, CA
3D Visualization by Dennis Gomez | See finished store here
Monty’s Good Truck
Monty’s Friends
Monty’s collaborates with different brands and artists to create unique experiences for fans. It could be a special food item, merchandise or both. A portion is always donated to a cause of the brand / artist’s choosing. Here’s are some collaborators: Brockhampton, Davey Havok, Dolan Twins, Elton John, iGirl, Jesse Rutherford, Pizza Slime, Primitive Skate, Role Model, Vince Staples, YG, Yungblud, The Weeknd.
Support + Feed Celebrates One-Year Anniversary by Serving Vegan Burgers to LA Youth in Need with Billie Eilish, Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara
Brand Stickiness
Monty’s Good Burger is a fun brand with a dynamic personality. The following designs are for stickers and placemats used during different times of the year.
Postmates: Product Photography
