Brand Refresh
The Rustic is a high-energy American restaurant, bar, and live-music venue with locations in Dallas and Houston, known for wood-grilled comfort food and a strong focus on local Texas beer and spirits.
As Art Director for FreeRange Concepts, I led a strategic reset of The Rustic’s brand system after years of visual inconsistency. I re-established the brand through a refreshed set of guidelines built around three core pillars: Live Music, Evergreen Food & Beverage, and Large-Scale Seasonal Events. This work created a clear, scalable foundation that empowered the creative team to produce cohesive, on-brand marketing across all channels and future campaigns.
CLIENT
The Rustic
LINK
Website
DELIVERABLES
Creative direction
Brand strategy & visual identity
Marketing collaterals
Print production
Food & Beverage photoshoots Art Directed
Menu Engineering
I led the creative direction for a menu engineering campaign focused on a select group of high-performing menu items—dishes that were already both highly profitable and frequently ordered. The goal was to amplify visibility of these items at key in-store touchpoints, using table creative and Marketing TV screens to further influence ordering behavior and push incremental gains in profitability.
The campaign was designed to integrate seamlessly into the guest experience, reinforcing crave-worthy visuals and clear product messaging at moments of highest decision-making impact. To support the campaign, I art directed a dedicated photoshoot for these menu items in collaboration with photographer Kevin Marple, ensuring the photography aligned with the brand’s refreshed visual language while elevating the food’s appeal.
Results
The campaign proved highly successful, driving increased sales across the featured items and contributing to year-over-year sales growth at all locations. By pairing data-driven menu insights with strong visual storytelling, the initiative demonstrated how thoughtful in-store creative can directly impact the bottom line.
Seasonal Promotions
Single Day Events at The Rustic are high-impact, high-revenue moments, often featuring live music, partner activations, and limited-time food and drink specials. Key events such as Red River Weekend (Texas vs. Oklahoma), Texas Independence Day, and Kentucky Derby consistently drive some of the brand’s largest single-day sales.
These events provided an opportunity to further reinforce The Rustic’s refreshed brand while allowing each moment to feel distinct and intentional.
