Perfect Fit Café
Deliverables: Menu App Prototype, Website Prototype, App Prototype, Lunch Tray, Takeout Bag and Box, Menu
Art Direction: Caleb Heisey
Photography: Austen Hart
My younger brother is Autistic, and when he was younger, going out to eat was always an ordeal. The Perfect Fit Cafe is a restaurant for families with young Autistic children, to make the experience as calm and easy as possible.
I used a soft rounded sans serif (Gotham Rounded) to communicate friendliness and approachability, as well as made sure to pick something that could be easily read. The soft color palette has colors made to soothe and not over-stimulate.
The puzzle piece has been used to represent Autism for a long time, and recently it’s been contested as something less than ideal (many believe the puzzle piece symbolizes the act of not fitting in or being othered). I also did not want to associate the brand with other… well-known organizations. So I decided to try and reclaim the puzzle piece as something positive, by interlocking four of them together to show that everyone fits in no matter what. They also form the shape of an apple because, hey, it’s also still a kid friendly restaurant.
One of the biggest parts of this project was I wanted the menu to be solely digital. The menu is made to be on an iPad and streamlines the process of ordering so the child can get the food they want without any fuss. It is also helpful if the child is nonverbal as this way they can click on what they want themselves.
Another big part of this project was a lunch tray made specifically so none of the child’s food has to touch. They order what they want where in the tray compartments through the menu app. I 3-D printed the tray after modeling it in Tinkercad.
Takeout should be simple and easy. In my experience, when Autistic children are done eating, they are done. There will be no taking any food home (leftover food tastes different when microwaved). But the adults might want to. So I designed stickers that would close the bag or box in the case of leftovers or takeout.
I created the paper menu for the adults who may not want the iPad or in case of takeout. It details the restaurant’s mission as well as how the tray works.
I designed the website and app to be as simple as possible so that users could get the information they need quickly and easily. Users can also access or look at the iPad menu through the website.
The identity manual is made to be easy to understand and help readers grasp how the restaurant works and why, both conceptually and in design. It’s used to make sure parts of the brand are used properly. It includes typography, colors, graphics, photography, and concept work.
Making this project means so much to me, and I wish I could make this real for people like my brother. Everyone deserves to eat in comfort.