Nona Gastro Bar – Iván Santiago Duarte

Client: Nona Gastro Bar
Year: 2024
Role: Administrator, Graphic Designer

Nona Gastrobar: Building a Local Food Brand from Scratch with Design & Strategy

Nona Gastrobar is a personal entrepreneurial project that blends fast-casual dining with modern branding and digital presence. From concept to execution, I led the creative and strategic development of the brand — shaping its identity, design, marketing, and customer engagement.

1.Overview

Nona Gastrobar was born as a modern, hybrid-concept food business, offering a unique mix of customizable bowls, gourmet burgers, coffee, and craft cocktails — designed for a social, urban audience seeking speed without sacrificing quality.

From the ground up, I was responsible for shaping both the brand identity and marketing strategy — managing everything from concept creation, graphic design, and social media content to the physical packaging and offline promotion.

Roles & Skills: Brand Administrator · Graphic Designer · Marketing Strategist · Creative Director
Tools Used: Adobe Illustrator · Photoshop · Canva · CapCut · Google Business · Instagram

Business Goal: Build customer trust quickly with no brand history

The challenge was to launch a new food brand in a competitive market, without paid advertising, and establish a strong visual identity that resonates both online and offline.

2. Strategy

To position Nona Gastrobar as a modern, fast-casual destination, I focused on an organic, design-led marketing strategy that combined social media, local search visibility, and offline branding.

Key actions included:

Establishing a strong local presence via Google Business and community engagement
Creating high-quality visual content (photos, videos, stories) for Instagram
Designing consistent brand assets — menus, posters, packaging, and in-store visuals
Encouraging word-of-mouth through customer experience and aesthetic consistency
Crafting a brand identity that felt modern, friendly, and visually distinctive

This strategy drove rapid organic growth and strong customer recognition — without paid ads.

3.Execution

Brand Identity Design

I created the full visual identity for Nona Gastrobar, defining its look and feel across every touchpoint.
This included:

Logo design
Color palette and typography
Brand guidelines for consistent usage

The goal was to reflect a modern, urban personality that blended casual dining with a premium aesthetic.

Digital Content & Social Media

I led the creation of all digital content, building a strong presence on Instagram through:

High-quality photos and product flat-lays
Reels and video content edited in CapCut
Branded story templates and feed design

This consistent and engaging content strategy helped drive organic visibility and brand affinity.

Print Materials & Offline Assets

To extend the brand into the physical space, I designed:

Menus, posters, and table cards
Product packaging (takeaway bags, burger wraps, cup sleeves)
In-store signage and promotional flyers

All offline assets were aligned with the digital aesthetic to ensure a cohesive customer experience.

Business Presence & Local Optimization

I set up and managed the brand’s presence on Google Business, optimizing for local search and reviews.
This helped capture nearby traffic and supported word-of-mouth growth by:

- Publishing photos and updates
- Managing business information and location
- Encouraging customer reviews and engagement

4.Takeaways

This project allowed me to combine design thinking, entrepreneurial strategy, and visual storytelling in one cohesive launch. It sharpened my ability to:

Design and manage a brand holistically, balance creativity with business goals and understand how design directly impacts customer perception and engagement

“A strong brand isn’t just about how it looks — it’s about how it makes people feel. With Nona Gastrobar, I brought that principle to every piece of content and every customer interaction.”