context
steam is a family-owned shanghainese restaurant located in greenwich village that specializes in handmade soup dumplings and house-made dim sum. as the sole creative on the project, i've owned the full spectrum of content and visual production—from brand voice and editorial work to food photography, poster design, and content creator partnerships. this is the first large-scale project that i've taken on (and is still ongoing!) and i've learned a lot about what it means to have creative control from start to finish.
food photography
this was actually my first time doing a food photography shoot with a full set-up. i have a dedicated mirrorless camera that i take photos with as a hobby, but most of that was travel/street photography—so this was a huge learning experience for me. many thanks to my friend ryan, also a hobby photographer, without whom this shoot would not have been possible.
below are a selection of some of the photos from the shoot. there are others not pictured here that can be viewed on steam's resy profile. i prioritized hero shots but made sure to get a spread as well.
posters
i chose the xiao long bao and the black gold lava buns as the hero images to use for the restaurant's outdoor posters. most shops on 6th ave where steam is located tend to have signage displayed outside—steam, in particular, has an unassuming facade that they are unable to change due to the storefront being a designated landmark. as such, choosing the most eye-catching shots was essential.
i chose the solo soup dumpling shot since soup dumplings are, deservedly, super trendy right now and steam's signature (handmade to order!); the black gold lava bun shot was chosen for the stunning color. staff have reported an uptick in the latter specifically—previously, customers had no idea what "black gold lava buns" were but when given a visual aid, were interested enough to ask and try.
menus
these menu redesigns are set to go live late spring/early summer. this structure in particular is designed to address some of the issues front-of-house staff cited in the past: customer uncertainty regarding certain items without descriptions (what is a pork soup dumpling sampler?), sauce options for specific items, and ensuring that all english menu items had a chinese counterpart. a section regarding store-specific policies was also added; previously, staff would have to verbally confirm with customers every time.
and now, a secret: i actually used figma for this redesign as i wanted to try using a different software than indesign. sacrilege, i know. but auto layout actually helped me immensely here! i also made components that allowed me to toggle vertical/horizontal displays (chinese and english names don't always stack well) and allergens. this would also make menu updates in the future much quicker, as i could add, cut, and rearrange within minutes.
creator partnerships
beyond my own production, part of my role has been identifying and vetting content creators for steam. i source and liaise with creators whose aesthetic and audience feel like a natural fit. the work below is theirs, selected and shared here to show the full picture of what the brand looks like in the world.
reflections
if i were to re-approach this project from the beginning, i would've gone into the food photography shoot with clearer direction. i'm not unhappy with the shots i got at all, but i do think that in the moment i was perhaps too focused on just the photography and not what i would have to do with the photos after. the poster, for example: i'm not a huge fan of the rectangular container but i could not find a way to include the wordmark without it as the background washed out the text. in the future, i'd plan the composition with the type placement in mind from the start.
redesigning menus was something i'm more familiar with. i will say that the process was incredibly smooth as i was able to receive direct feedback from the front-of-house staff, who have the most experience with their current menu and the issues that they experience with it. on figma: i know some graphic designers might shun me for forsaking indesign for this project. i've used indesign to the point of exhaustion in the past, so i wanted to see what it would be like to use a different software. surprise, surprise—it was incredibly efficient! would i use this for all my graphic layout projects? probably not. but auto layout and the ability to create components was extremely helpful and made my workflow a lot faster. in the future i'd be more open to using whatever software fits the situation best, even if it's not necessarily what said software is designed for. playing to my strengths is more important than conformity.
lastly, i really loved working with content creators in order to boost our audience. as someone who gets a lot of their food recommendations online (often from the very creators i ended up speaking with), it was really fascinating seeing what the other side of the screen looked like. steam no longer partners with creators as often since they're in a very different stage of product right now, but it was also a lesson for me in learning how to target specific demographics and being intentional with who you work with:
- work with creators, but not too many that have similar audiences
- be careful not to overexpose yourself
- most importantly, be as authentic as possible