Cava Grill

Cava Grill

Truly sweeping the nation, Cava Grill has rapidly expanded from their home base of Washington, D.C. to over 30 locations (and counting) across the states. Started by three childhood friends, this “fast casual” restaurant celebrates the flavors of their families’ traditional Greek and Mediterranean cooking in a modern setting. Not only is the food is amazingly tasty and fresh, the company's commitment to supporting urban gardening, sourcing local ingredients and fostering healthy eating programs is the "tzatziki on the pita".

While working at Preacher, we partnered with Cava Grill to help tell their brand story as they began to extend their footprint into new markets. Developing visuals around a unique brand positioning with bold values and a clear voice, we landed on the consumer-rallying idea: “For Those Who Savor”. This was brought to life throughout their locations via posters, packaging, photography and collateral. This is a brand that truly savors life, and we aimed to convey this sentiment to all who walk through their doors.

To kick off the project, we re-designed Cava Grill's ridiculicious packaged spreads, and set the tone for the new brand aesthetic. 

Lively colors and honest foods led to a series of in-store posters made to promote the brand's mission. Using close-up photography of  ingredients and hands-on production techniques, the ethos of Cava Grill comes alive in vibrant artwork. 

For an added touch of storytelling, we worked with photographer Josh Goleman, whose signature raw, black-and-white approach was chosen to reflect the brand's originality and approach to business.

These elements all came together in our brand book. Designed to solidify Cava Grill's position in the minds of new employees and potential investors, it's a testament to a company that is simply doing things their own way.

We also had the opportunity to touch upon many of the brand's customer-facing assets. In-store displays, packaging, cups, napkins and swag were all updated to carry the spirit of Cava Grill forward.

Project Tasks: Art Direction, Environment, Packaging, Print Design

Made at Preacher

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Casper Snooze Bar

Casper Snooze Bar

The innovative online sleep company, Casper, needed help introducing new markets to their brand. Even with their amazing 100 night trial period, a mattress is just one of those things that people like to try in person before they buy. In a collaboration with Preacher and NA Collective, we helped develop a mobile pop-up experience that avoided the traditional 'mattress showroom' antics the brand has challenged since say one. And we named it after morning's best friend: The Snooze Bar. 

In this AM coffee bar / PM cocktail lounge, guests could book private naps on Casper mattresses in our custom-built canvas tents, or just drop by for live music, gourmet waffles and signature drinks. Design touches around the space gently lulled visitors into our world of slumber. This immersive pop-up experience traveled from D.C. to Austin and San Francisco, presenting Casper as a modern, thoughtful and desirable option for those who seek the best night's sleep. Because five more minutes in a Casper bed is a beautiful thing indeed...

Guests began their experience by checking in with our concierge, where they traded in their shoes for custom slippers and fresh pillowcases before being led to their private canvas napping tent.

A "Sleep Menu" containing curated playlists of dreamy songs and podcasts on the science of sleep - as well as a choice of dreamscapes projected onto the ceiling of the tent - ensured that our guests got to choose their perfect napping style.

To entertain guests before and after their nap, our cocktail bar served up signature drinks, coffee and gourmet waffles all day long. They also received copies of our Shuteye Journal, chock full of whimsical sleep-related short stories, poems and photography.  

The quiet, peaceful naptime setting transformed in the evening when the lights turned down, local jazz bands took the stage, and private canvas tents became (very comfortable) cocktail lounges.

Local artists in each city held court at the end of the bar and served as 'dream analysts' - sketching guest's dreams onto cocktail napkins as a memorable take-away. Nothing like a few drinks for people to open up about their deepest dreams and desires.

In the end, over 3,000 guests enjoyed a personalized nap experience at the Snooze Bar, while Casper saw a  21% increase of trial-to-sale conversions above their other previous events.

" I walked in because I smelled the waffles from the street. I stayed for the amazing experience."

- a happy guest

Project Tasks: Art Direction, Environment, Styling, Print Design, Event

Made at Preacher

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Squarespace + Leon Bridges

Squarespace + Leon Bridges

In a unique collaboration between Preacher, Squarespace and Leon Bridges, we worked with renowned photographer Danny Clinch to chronicle this musician's incredible rise to fame. We didn't have to try all that hard to show Leon’s humble approach to his newfound musical career. With Danny behind the lens, we captured all the soulful moments that make the man, and now get to share Leon's story through film and a beautiful site co-developed with the talented team over at Squarespace.

Pushing boundaries within the platform, and using this project to test new features for the mass market, we helped developed Leon's site from the ground up. Inspired by the use of white space found in liner notes of traditional vinyl records, our minimal page layout takes advantage of the beautiful platform provided by Squarespace. Holding a line between old and new, Leon's site is a testament to a man who is excited about where he's going, and thankful for where he's been.

Effortlessly cool and confident, we took cues from Leon's personality to create simple layouts with large type and minimal color.

"I want people to see an honesty within me. I'm not trying to be the next Sam Cooke or Otis Redding."

- Leon Bridges

Project Tasks: Art Direction, Website

Made at Preacher with Taryn Kealani and Daniel Seong

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Teva Footwear

Teva Footwear

Nearly 30 years ago, a Grand Canyon river guide forever changed the way people experienced the outdoors. Rigging two Velcro watchbands to an old pair of flip flops, he created a shoe that wouldn’t float away, and thus, the world’s first sport sandal. In doing so, he built a loyal tribe of river enthusiasts and athletes that has lasted for decades...

While working at Frank Creative, the focus of our GO. DO. BE. print campaign was to fully embrace the fluid moments of life and sport that one experiences during a river trip. We had Teva gather their team and set them loose down the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. Through the use of photography, large-scale water polaroid transfers, and custom typography by notable poster artists, we were able create a liquid dream-scape that allows the amazing energy of the trip to flow right off the page.

The polaroid transfer process is pure magic, and separates the image into a jelly-like substance that can be freely manipulated underwater before placing it back onto a dry piece of paper.

Project Tasks: Art Direction, Print Design, Advertising

Made at Frank Creative Workgroup

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Parks Project

Parks Project

Our National Park system is losing money every day. This means fewer open trails and fewer rangers to teach the young. Parks Project was established as a way to re-inspire the public, encourage volunteerism, and give back to these natural wonders. Through sales of their apparel and accessories, funds are given to specific needs in parks all over the country. From bear boxes in Denali to erosion control in the Santa Monica Mountains, this team is fighting the good fight for mother nature.

Taking inspiration from trail signage and vintage park ledgers, we helped the fine folks at Parks Project craft a brand rooted in tradition, yet well-paced for today's aesthetic. We were responsible for all branding and collateral work: logo development, hangtags, website, catalog, patches, apparel design - and we're continually working to keep the brand moving forward through new products, graphics and initiatives.

"There is a love of wild nature in everybody, an ancient mother-love ever showing itself whether recognized or no, and however covered by cares and duties."

- John Muir

Extending their relationships with customers (and Mother Earth) even further, the team at Parks Projects hosts volunteer days at parks all across the country - encouraging people to get their hands dirty for a worthy cause. 

We also had the pleasure of working with our friend and videographer, Ryan Maxey, as he spent some quality time with our National Parks, making new friends and capturing footage along the way.

Project Tasks: Brand Identity, Art Direction, Packaging, Apparel, Website

© HOMESTEAD

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Live at 9:30

Live at 9:30

The 9:30 Club in Washington, DC is often heralded as one of the greatest American rock-n-roll venues still in existence. Founded in 1980, everyone from the Bad Brains to Bob Dylan have graced the stage, and we were honored to help add another chapter to the legacy of this long-standing musical establishment. Live at 9:30 is modern-day music variety show that is filmed on location and airs on PBS. Billed as giving viewers the best seat in the house, the club installed over 20 cameras around the venue - even on the necks of guitars - all piped into television sets around the country.

While at Preacher, we developed the Live at 9:30 identity to be used across the show's opening, site and merchandise. Most significantly, we designed and launched its online home, liveat930.com. As music lovers ourselves, we wanted to reference the rich history of concert posters made for this venue over the years, and let that inspiration shape the website. By bringing posters to life online, we could weave in and out of the print to reveal episode information, watch videos, learn about band lineups, and more. Squarespace provided the technology and sponsorship support - leveraging their platform as the ideal place to present creative content and bend the rules toward the unexpected. 

Working with developers at Squarespace, we created a coded template of different shapes and colors, allowing content from each episode to be seamlessly loaded onto the site…and essentially bringing gig posters to life in the digital space.

Each episode features multiple musical acts, as well as thoughtful interviews, comedic skits and more. A robust system of menus and visual cues help lead the viewer to the content they want to watch.

Made at Preacher with Taryn Kealani

Project Tasks: Brand Identity, Art Direction, Website

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This Bar Saves Lives

This Bar Saves Lives

For every bar purchased, This Bar Saves Lives gives a packet of life-saving food to malnourished children in need. After seeing our work with TOMS, the team's marketing director looked to Homestead for direction on how to create elevated imagery as they prepared to launch their social good snack bars in both Target and Starbucks.

Using bright background colors, highlighting wholesome ingredients, and featuring the actual product they distribute in Africa (Plumpy Nut - it's a game changer - check it out), we captured the many sides of This Bar, while staying true to their mission: We Eat Together. Working with photographer Dunja Dumanski at Small Green Door in Los Angeles, we were able to capture a large number of photos in a short day shoot, quickly swapping backgrounds and ingredients to compliment the product.

Using eye-catching color combinations and playful animation, our goal was to stop even  the quickest Instagram scroller in their tracks.

Project Tasks: Art Direction, Styling, Photo Production

© HOMESTEAD

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TOMS Marketplace

TOMS Marketplace

When TOMS started, they did something no one else was doing: giving away a pair of shoes for every pair they sold. A few years later, this extended into giving sight-saving operations for every pair of sunglasses sold. The arrival of TOMS Marketplace took the pattern a step further: they turned over part of their site, stores and marketing budget to companies that could technically be considered their competition. All for the idea that "this is bigger than us".

And so the TOMS Marketplace was born. A website with over 250 products by 37 altruistic brands, customers were able to shop in entirely new ways: sorting by the cause or region they want to support. Through this platform, TOMS willingly sacrificed sales of their own goods to promote the good that other brands are doing. With the belief that business can be used to improve lives, TOMS leveraged their fan base to expose its Marketplace brands to a larger audience.    

Working with Australian illustrator Alice Carroll, we created over 50 approachable portraits of Marketplace brand founders for use in their web bios and print advertising.

Wild postings, billboards and magazine ads were purchased for the first time in TOMS history - and TOMS gave the space away to other brands.

Studio photography was a chance to showcase the breadth of product now housed under one roof, all contributing to a greater good. We also wanted to highlight the craftsmanship of each brand's unique  products.

Pop-up shops were held in various TOMS locations, as well as at other events, venues and concerts. These experiences allowed the Marketplace to take on physical spaces and reach new audiences. 

Project Tasks: Art Direction, Website, Photo Production, Advertising

Made at TOMS

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