Jol: A Modern Soul Food Restaurant

In my previous blog What Is Capstone? I describe my senior capstone course as an art major. In my large class of five, I am most excited to see how my friend Travis Crudup’s capstone project called Jol will turn out. Travis’ Jol restaurant is a modern-day soul food diner.

In his blog, Jol: A Modern Soul Food Restaurant, Travis describes his project:

“American soul food takes a lot of influences from African cuisine while also infusing foods and ideas from Spanish and French cuisine. I will be combining the cultural significance of these foods with the current era to create a restaurant and an experience similar to that of restaurants like Seoul Taco and Nudo here in STL.”

I am most excited to see his project come to life because I have always wanted to get into soul food myself and I think that the culture is really cool. The way that Travis chose to approach the style of this restaurant is eye-catching, hip, and modern, while also paying homage to the culture soul food is derived from.

A project like this is great for someone like Travis, who is a talented graphic design student and soul food connoisseur. He plans to use his skills to create a menu for his restaurant Jol, as well as various signage, product and website/app mockups.

Having observed Travis’ work from the classroom, I enjoy seeing the direction he has taken with this project. He has developed a strong logo for his Jol restaurant that includes block-like text with a gradient and highlight marks that makes it look polished, shiny, and inviting. I think that Travis should really lean into his choices on color and design by utilizing graphic patterns from 90s R&B style.

I am really excited for everyone in my capstone class’ projects and enjoy being able to watch their ideas unfold and come to life. Be sure to keep up with Travis & I’s blog posts to keep updated on decisions we make in the future to further develop our capstone projects.