FIGULĪNA
Brand Identity · Illustration · Creative Direction
Figulīna is a living brand project that began in 2023, ahead of the restaurant’s opening in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina.
The identity was built around the handmade nature of the restaurant: a seasonal pasta-focused space where craft, food, and hospitality come together. I developed a visual language that feels playful, tactile, and a little unexpected, carrying it throughout the restaurant with hand-painted murals and signage, logos and brand elements, illustrated food and beverage menus, custom decals, packaging, and custom printed pieces for special events.
As the restaurant continues to evolve, so does the brand, with new illustrations, objects, menus, and materials continually becoming part of its visual world.
LOGOS & SIGNAGE
Figulīna’s identity extends from the page into the physical space through a collection of logos, hand-drawn marks, and signage. Rather than relying on a single rigid logo treatment, we use variations of the Figulīna wordmark and supporting graphics across the restaurant, allowing the identity to feel consistent while still retaining the handmade, slightly imperfect character of the brand.
PRINT & PACKAGING
Printed pieces like merch, and packaging provide an ever-changing canvas for illustration, seasonal storytelling, and fun designs.
WINDOW ILLUSTRATIONS
Custom Vinyl Decals
One of my favorite design projects was creating these custom vinyl window decals, designed to filter the sunlight while simultaneously bringing illustrations from the menu into the space.
What I love most is the way the light interacts with them throughout the day. At certain times, the illustrations cast shadows across the walls and floors, while from outside, the decals shift with the changing sun exposure, sometimes appearing soft and subtle and other times becoming surprisingly vivid. The result is something that feels a little different depending on the time of day and where you’re standing.
MERCHANDISING REFRIGERATOR SIGNAGE
Custom Signage & Illustration
Custom Signage & Illustration
The default signs that come with merchandising refrigerators are never particularly cute, so we saw this as another opportunity to have a little fun with the space. We repurposed our “noodle fish” illustration to create custom signage that felt much more like us, turning an otherwise purely functional piece of equipment into something that actually adds to the room.
MERCH
My ideas for merch are endless!
The following designs were some of our first limited edition runs. We made embroidered hats, printed cotton tees, and totes!
PASTA & PROVISIONS CLUB
Figulīna's monthly pasta and provisions club gave me an opportunity to build a smaller visual world within the restaurant's identity, creating original artwork and printed materials inspired by a different theme each month.
EVENTS
Special Dinners · Collaborations · Celebrations
Special dinners and events allow the Figulīna identity to wander a little further, with each one developing its own character while still feeling part of the larger world. For wine dinners, collaborations, private events, and other special occasions, I often tailor the posters, menus, and illustrations to the theme of the evening.
For some events, I’ve also created hand-painted elements like table runners and place cards, adding a little uniqueness and whimsy while finding new ways to weave in familiar Figulīna brand elements.
We’ve hosted a lot of special events over the years, so what you see below is just a sampling of the custom designs, illustrations, and handmade details created for them.
COLLABORATIONS
LIZ KELLY × FIGULĪNA
For Figulīna’s Official Bagna Cauda Day dinner, we invited ceramic artist Liz Kelly to collaborate with us on a custom bowl designed specifically for the occasion.
Inspired by the two essential ingredients of bagna cauda, garlic and anchovies, I painted a series of illustrations in traditional watercolor that were then transformed into ceramic decals. Liz applied the artwork to bowls she designed and made by hand, bringing the illustrations off the page and onto an object created to actually serve the dish that inspired them.
It was a particularly fun meeting of food, illustration, and craft, and exactly the kind of collaboration I love: making something a little unexpected with another artist whose work I admire.
MURALS AND MORE
A big part of developing Figulīna’s visual identity was finding ways for the artwork to live beyond menus and printed materials. I designed and hand-painted murals throughout the restaurant, along with signage, window and glass decals, and other illustrated details that became part of the space itself.
Many of these pieces started the same way as my smaller illustrations, with sketches, watercolor, and hand-drawn elements, before being translated to walls, windows, equipment, and unexpected corners of the restaurant.
The goal was never for everything to match perfectly, but for it to feel like it belonged to the same slightly playful, handmade world.
