Smartfish Creative partnered with 98 Restaurant & Bar to transform their visual identity into a modern, high-impact hospitality brand. Working within the competitive Sunshine Coast food and beverage scene, Smartfish developed a strategically crafted restaurant logo that reflects the venue’s culinary personality and customer experience.
This project extended beyond simply designing a restaurant logo. We created a cohesive hospitality brand identity system covering print, packaging, signage and marketing alignment—ensuring 98 Restaurant & Bar stands out visually in a thriving coastal dining market.
Client Problem / Brand Challenge
Before partnering with Smartfish, 98 Restaurant & Bar lacked the visual distinction needed to thrive within Queensland’s busy hospitality landscape. Their original identity did not communicate their character, venue style, menu direction or guest experience.
Challenges included:
– Limited brand recognition
– No strong visual strategy
– Lack of cohesion across menus, signage and promotional collateral
– Difficulty competing with established restaurant brands
– A need to attract the right demographic and dining audience
In the restaurant industry, branding isn’t decoration—it’s commercial survival. Without a recognisable identity, even the best dining venues struggle to build lasting loyalty. The client required branding that told a story, spoke to their food philosophy and helped customers instantly understand what made 98 Restaurant & Bar worth choosing.
Our Strategy & Design Approach
Smartfish Creative led the project through a strategic design development process to ensure the final restaurant logo was intentionally built—not stylistically guessed.
Brand + Industry Research
We studied the Sunshine Coast hospitality landscape, analysing colour usage, typography behaviour, customer expectation, menu psychology, dining culture and competitor identity design. This ensured the new restaurant logo stood apart in a visually crowded industry space.
Strategic Design Direction
Our aim was to produce a logo that:
– captured the destination dining feel
– communicated premium taste and atmosphere
– supported hospitality storytelling
– scaled cleanly across signage, menus and merchandise
– evoked curiosity and emotional engagement
Logo Shapes + Symbolism
The final 98 Restaurant & Bar logo uses strong typographic structure and simplicity to express modern confidence. The bold “98” icon acts as a visual anchor, creating a highly recognisable restaurant mark with fast recall.
The design direction avoids trend-based styling and embraces timeless structure—allowing the brand to remain relevant as menu styles and clientele evolve.
Typography + Colour Psychology
Warm tones and balanced typography were selected to communicate approachability and dining comfort while still presenting a polished commercial finish—ideal for restaurant spaces aiming to create an elevated casual setting.
Brand System + Execution
The brand identity rollout extended to:
– packaging
– signage
– menus
– print collateral
– merchandise concepts
– visual marketing consistency
Every visual element was aligned to ensure customers experience the brand the moment they encounter it—from promotional posts to the menu in their hands.
Outcome & Brand Impact
The finished identity transformed 98 Restaurant & Bar into a premium-looking hospitality brand capable of holding its own against large, well-funded restaurant groups.
Differentiation
The new logo gives 98 Restaurant & Bar a sharp commercial presence and strong restaurant identity—immediately separating them from competitors using generic, copy-and-paste design approaches.
Market Clarity
Patrons quickly grasp who the venue is and what experience they offer. This clarity strengthens local awareness, menu trust and booking confidence.
Visual Equity
The typographic structure provides longevity, meaning the brand can evolve across future menus, wine lists, signage, digital marketing and expansion without redesign.
Emotional Connection
Restaurant patrons choose venues based on perception—before they ever taste food. The new identity supports menu quality, hospitality warmth and venue personality.
Commercial Strength
98 Restaurant & Bar now operate with a brand foundation that supports long-term marketing efficiency, social media traction and professional presentation across print and digital platforms.
Smartfish Creative delivered more than a hospitality logo—we built a recognisable restaurant identity that fuels customer loyalty and strengthens commercial storytelling.
Conclusion
This restaurant branding project demonstrates how professional visual identity elevates the dining experience. 98 Restaurant & Bar now have a unique Sunshine Coast brand personality, a memorable logo and a scalable visual system built to drive growth, customer loyalty and long-term restaurant success.
