Rise & Bagel – Branding a Heritage Bagel Experience

A case study on creating a complete brand identity for a premium bagel bakery, blending 1920s heritage with modern design to stand out in today’s competitive food industry.

About the Client

Rise & Bagel is not just another bakery. It’s a micro-bakery dedicated to authentic, hand-rolled bagels inspired by the traditions of 1920s New York. The brand’s mission is to revive the golden age of bagel making while presenting it with a premium and modern twist. The client envisioned a bakery that celebrated heritage baking, craftsmanship, and community, while appealing to customers seeking quality over fast food alternatives.

The Challenge

From the start, the challenge was clear: Rise & Bagel needed a distinctive brand identity that reflected both its historic inspiration and its modern positioning. The bakery wanted to avoid looking like a generic coffee shop or fast-casual restaurant. Instead, it needed to communicate:

• Authenticity: A visual identity that felt rooted in bagel-making heritage.

• Premium quality: A design system that signaled craftsmanship and attention to detail.

• Versatility: Assets that worked seamlessly across packaging, uniforms, storefronts, and digital platforms.

• Recognition: A brand presence strong enough to stand out among both local bakeries and large franchises.

In short, Rise & Bagel needed a brand that looked as handcrafted as its bagels tasted.

Services Provided

• Logo family (primary logo, secondary logo, badge variations, monogram)

• Typography system and vintage-inspired lettering

• Packaging design (bags, wrapping paper, takeaway materials)

• Merchandise and apparel (staff uniforms, t-shirts)

• Storefront signage and environmental branding

• Social media templates and promotional assets

• Complete brand identity system

The Solution

My approach was to design a brand that felt like it had been around since 1920 while still feeling fresh and appealing today. The solution involved:

• Creating a complete logo family with multiple lockups, ensuring flexibility across every application from packaging to storefront signage.

• Using vintage typography inspired by 1920s union logos and trade emblems to ground the brand in heritage.

• Designing a versatile monogram (R&B) that could be used as a stamp, seal, or social media icon.

• Developing packaging and merchandising concepts that reinforced the premium, handcrafted story.

• Extending the identity into social media designs for promotions, hiring campaigns, and storytelling to build community engagement.

The Design Process

The process began with research. I studied vintage signage, bagel shop heritage, and historical design elements such as Local 338, a union deeply connected to New York’s baking industry. This provided a visual foundation that celebrated heritage while avoiding clichés.

Then I moved into sketching and exploration. Early drafts tested how script and serif typefaces could blend together to capture both elegance and strength. Iterations refined spacing, kerning, and iconography until the logos achieved a balance of tradition and modern clarity.

Each logo lockup was tested across real-life applications through mockups: signage on the storefront, uniforms for staff, takeaway bags, and Instagram story templates. This ensured that the identity not only looked good in theory but performed in practice.

The result was a timeless brand system that carried heritage with pride and gave Rise & Bagel a recognizable presence in every customer interaction.

The Results

The final identity positioned Rise & Bagel as more than a bakery—it became a brand with a story worth following. The key outcomes included:

• Consistency: From packaging to social media, the design created a seamless customer experience.

• Premium perception: The vintage-inspired marks reinforced the handcrafted, small-batch quality of the bagels.

• Flexibility: With multiple logo variations and the monogram, the brand could adapt to any medium without losing recognition.

• Community appeal: Social media templates and storytelling visuals helped build anticipation and connection with the audience even before launch.

The client expressed that the branding not only matched but exceeded their expectations, capturing the balance of history and modernity they were looking for.

Key Takeaways

• A strong visual identity doesn’t just look good—it communicates quality and trust instantly.

• Heritage-inspired branding can resonate with modern audiences when adapted with clarity and consistency.

• Having a complete logo family ensures flexibility and recognition across every touchpoint.

• Strategic branding helps small businesses compete with larger franchises by amplifying uniqueness and authenticity.