Phuong Nam

Modernising a family legacy to stand out in Sydney’s vibrant food scene.

BACKGROUND

Phuong Nam began in 2012 as a family-owned restaurant in Canley Vale. With a reputation for the best crispy chicken in Sydney, their second location—led by Cindy, the founders’ daughter—needed a refreshed brand to reflect its modern, generational evolution.

Cindy approached me during the planning stages of their new shop. While keeping the Phuong Nam name, the new restaurant reimagines tradition with a modern twist. From the fitout, branding, to the social media presence, this expansion would encapsulate the notion of tradition passing to new generation.

PROBLEM

Standing Out in a Saturated Market

Sydney’s vibrant Vietnamese food scene is highly competitive. The challenge was to create a distinctive brand identity that reflected Phuong Nam’s authenticity while appealing to a broader audience and supporting future scalability.

Balancing Tradition and Modernity

The new branding needed to honour the family’s legacy and resonate with loyal customers, while also embracing a modern dining experience that would attract a new mass audience.

OPPORTUNITY

Becoming A “Must Visit” Restaurant

Phuong Nam had all the ingredients to become a standout restaurant in Sydney: beloved dishes (I can confirm, one of, if not the best crispy chicken), affordability, and a loyal following. A vibrant, approachable brand could transform it into a local favourite for the Vietnamese and Assyrian communities around St Johns Park, NSW.

Building a Legacy for the Future

The new branding aims to represent the next generation’s millennial sensibilities, focusing on convenience, atmosphere, and simplicity. A flexible identity system would support future expansion while preserving its familial roots.

PROCESS

Understanding, Defining, & Conceptualising

Using a collaborative, modified 5-stage design-thinking approach, I partnered closely with Cindy to craft a vision that honoured her family’s legacy while setting the stage for a modern dining experience. This involved uncovering the core values of Phuong Nam through workshops, audits, and research, with an emphasis on balancing tradition with modernity. Key steps included:

Brand Strategy Workshop: Conducted with Cindy, we explored the history, mission, and vision of Phuong Nam, defining their values and the story behind their beloved recipes.
Personality and Tone of Voice: Establishing a voice that felt warm, friendly, and rooted in tradition, while appealing to younger audiences.
Competitor & Audience Analysis: Understanding the local Vietnamese food market and identifying gaps to help position Phuong Nam as a standout in Greater Sydney.
Brand Positioning: Defining their unique value proposition and taglines to resonate with both loyal and new customers.
Moodboarding & Ideation: Translating insights into visual inspiration, exploring color palettes, typography, and design elements to evoke vibrancy and authenticity.

By synthesising this information into a Brand DNA document, I provided a foundation for Phuong Nam’s identity system that reflected their legacy while embracing a modern aesthetic. This document guided the design phase, ensuring all creative decisions aligned with the brand vision and values.

Prototyping, Building, & Evaluating

With the strategic foundation in place, we moved into the execution phase, developing the brand identity system and coordinating with external collaborators to bring the vision to life. This phase began with visual experimentation, including mascot illustrations and refined typography, before narrowing down to a streamlined, professional aesthetic. Key deliverables included:

Logo Design & Refinement: After exploring multiple directions, we opted for a clean, timeless logotype that merged tradition and modernity.
Typography & Colour Palette: Vibrant colours paired with bold, rounded, and modern typefaces to create a friendly yet polished brand presence.
Collateral Design: Developing essential assets like menus, signage, takeaway bags, posters, business cards, and merchandise.
Social Media Templates: Creating cohesive templates to strengthen their digital presence and engagement with a broader audience.
Brand Guidelines: Documenting the brand’s visual and verbal standards for future use and scalability.

Collaboration with producers, printers, and designers ensured that every touchpoint—from signage to merchandise—aligned with the overarching brand vision. While the initial mascot was well-received, the decision to simplify the visual system allowed the brand to strike the perfect balance between authenticity and modern appeal.

HOVER TO PAUSE

CHALLENGES & LEARNINGS

Refining the Brand Identity

While the mascot logo was well-received, we ultimately removed it to ensure the brand remained simple, professional, and timeless. This experience highlighted the importance of exploring diverse design directions, my own shortcomings as an illustrator, and the value of collaboration with others for specialised tasks.

OUTCOMES & RESULTS

Community Success

Phuong Nam opened it’s doors to the public with a full house on November 15th, 2024. The restaurant has been praised by the community and loyal customers of the original restaurant, with tables consistently being filled and social media shares daily.