Leicester has all sorts of groovy and tasty
places sprouting up around town and Byron Burgers has always appealed to me.
Now, here’s a thing, I don’t like burgers. I do love the strong sans-serif font
they’ve used for their sign, which gets my design senses tingling. If they have
a fab exterior, surely they will have a fab interior?!
As Jams and I were waiting to be seated, my
eyes glanced over at the pile of menus and they greeted me back with an array
of vibrant colors and styles. The décor of the place fitted the whole ‘kitsch’
theme too, with copper pipes trailing the walls, ‘grandma’ style tiles
complemented with old wallpapers. The kitchen is open, bustling with chefs and
burger buns. To the back of the restaurant is more canteen style; a sense of a
community becomes present. Once we had sat down on our little table, I could
finally feast my eyes on the menu’s details that caught my attention from afar.
1 - The Main Menu
So the first thing I
noticed? YELLOW. And lots of it. This color sums up summer, perfect for a
summer menu. The same typeface that is used on their outside sign is also used
on the menus, subtly bringing everything together. I find the illustrations
that are dotted around the page to be fun and inviting, bringing a smile to my
face. Jean Jullien is the man responsible. Jullien lives in London but is
French through and through, he primarily illustrates with a brush “there is
something quiet visually sincere about a brush” giving the lines personality.
On the menu we can see a big old dude chillin’ on burger under a parasol, he’s
got his shades on, everything is bliss. Miniature versions are distributed over
the page; one has a burger version of an inflatable pool toy, some guy is
kickin’ back and relaxin’, and another is consuming a hella big milkshake.
Jullien’s quirky doodles lift the menu from being a bit flat, into something
entertaining to look at.
2 -The Drinks Menu
This bad boy is duplexed, I
know, that’s exciting isn’t it?! White uncoated card is seen on the front, but
flip it over and you have a lovely natural, raw card staring back at you. Told
you it was exciting. Jean Jullien’s scribbles are also present within the text;
the same guy as on the main menu has hopped on over to surf on a strawberry and
take a dip in a pint of beer.
3 - The Kids Menu
Illustration station. Jam
packed with crazy creatures and one-eyed unicorns this makes me wish I was a
kid again, grab them Crayola’s. As I did not have any half-humans with me during
this restaurant visit, a waitress jumped at the chance to give me this when I
asked if I could keep the menus. “Omg let me show you the kids one!” were her
exact words. A Southampton based graphic designer/illustrator by the name of
Tom Joyce has formed this magnificent paper piece, thank you Tom, it has
brightened my life. His works consist of mythical beings and comical scenes all
squished into one place. This man owns that white space.
4 - Byron Burger Club
Peeping out between the
condiments was this postcard-sized promotion. A deep sky blue is eye-catching
but not too harsh on those peepers, and works well with both black and white
imagery printed onto it. I really like this card because of the simple idea of
sign language being put into play. The letters spelling “Byron Burger Club” are
in white below the signs, so for those who don’t read sign language (aka me)
know what the hell is going on.
5 - Takeaway
When we had devoured our
burger goodness, we asked for the bill (urgh) This little single fold leaflet
is placed with your receipt (probably to soften the blow) Printed onto another
type of raw card is a wee image of a telephone, and I feel this may also have
been illustrated by Jean Jullien, but alas, we shall never know. This pocket-sized
menu finished off my Byron design experience in a humbling manner.
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A close up of Jullien's and Joyce's groovy doodles |
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Oh yea, the food wasn't too shabby either! |
Creep on the cool illustrators I mentioned....
Jean Jullien
Jean Jullien
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