Building a Brand Experience from Logo to Launch
Overview
Located in the heart of Union Pier, Nani’s Cafe & Beach Shop was a seasonal destination for summer vacationers seeking coffee, beach essentials, and laid-back lakeside charm.
The founders wanted more than just a storefront — they wanted a brand that captured the warmth, nostalgia, and easygoing spirit of a Michigan beach town. Funnychord partnered with Nani’s to create a cohesive identity that would live across signage, merchandise, and digital presence.
This was a full-spectrum brand build: from logo design and environmental graphics to T-shirt designs and a custom WordPress website theme.
The Challenge
Nani’s needed to establish a distinctive brand identity from scratch and create visual cohesion across physical and digital touchpoints. They also needed:
- Outdoor signage to attract traffic from tourists and locals
- Merchandise that customers would want to wear beyond their vacation
- A website that communicates charm while remaining functional
Because Union Pier is a summer destination, first impressions matter. The brand needed to feel instantly welcoming and memorable — especially to visitors discovering it while strolling through town.
Our Approach
Brand Identity & Logo Design
We began by developing a logo that captured the relaxed, nostalgic energy of a lakeside cafe while remaining clean and versatile for signage, apparel, and digital use.
The identity needed to:
- Feel timeless rather than trendy
- Evoke summer warmth and coastal ease
- Scale effectively across storefront signage and merchandise
- Maintain legibility from a distance
The result was a mark that feels friendly, recognizable, and rooted in place — becoming the foundation for all visual materials.
Environmental & Physical Design
For a destination business, physical presence is everything. We designed outdoor store signage, supporting graphic materials, visual elements that enhance curb appeal, and branded collateral like mugs for in-store touchpoints.
The signage was crafted to stand out while blending naturally with the beach-town aesthetic of Union Pier. The goal was to make Nani’s feel like it had always been part of the community — not a temporary pop-up.
Merchandise Design (T-Shirts & Apparel)
Vacation merchandise only works if people genuinely want to wear it after they leave. We created T-shirt designs to extend the brand personality beyond the storefront and to reinforce Nani’s identity as a summer destination.
The apparel became both a revenue stream and a brand amplifier — turning visitors into walking ambassadors long after summer ends.
Custom WordPress Website Development
To support discovery and reinforce the brand online, we developed a custom WordPress theme aligned with the physical identity.
The website was designed to:
- Reflect the warmth and simplicity of the brand
- Provide clear information for visitors planning their trip
- Highlight the cafe, beach shop offerings, and seasonal updates
- Be easy for the owners to update and manage
Rather than overcomplicate the experience, the site mirrors the relaxed ease of the storefront — clean layouts, thoughtful typography, and brand-consistent visuals.
The Outcome
Through cohesive brand development across logo, signage, merchandise, and web, Nani’s launched as a fully realized destination experience.
The brand:
✔ Feels rooted in place and community
✔ Maintains visual consistency across physical and digital channels
✔ Attracts walk-in summer traffic through strong curb presence
✔ Generates additional revenue through branded merchandise
✔ Provides visitors with a clear and inviting online touchpoint
By aligning identity, environment, and digital presence, Nani’s Cafe & Beach Shop became more than a storefront — it became part of the Union Pier summer experience.
Scope of Work
- Logo design & brand identity system
- Outdoor signage design
- Environmental graphics & physical collateral
- T-shirt and merchandise design
- Custom WordPress theme development
