Ariete
Project Overview
For Ariete, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Miami, I was tasked with elevating and refining their brand identity across digital and physical touchpoints.
The goal was to create a cohesive and modern experience that mirrored the restaurant's unique blend of Latin tradition, South Florida ingredients, and French culinary techniques. My work was centered on ensuring that the restaurant’s digital presence reflected this balance of heritage and innovation while enhancing user experience across multiple platforms.
Brand Identity
Campaigns
Social
Client / Michael Beltrán
My Contributions
I played a key role in developing and executing marketing campaigns, including social media strategies, where I crafted compelling Instagram posts that captured the essence of Ariete’s culinary innovation.
Additionally, I contributed to copywriting, graphics, layout, and visual design, ensuring that every element of the restaurant's brand identity resonated with its deep cultural roots and modern flair, solidifying its status as a leader in Miami’s culinary scene.
Challenge & Business Goal
The Concourse Project sought to develop a dynamic and user-friendly digital presence for their venue in Austin, TX, known for hosting high-energy music events and large-scale festivals. The goal was to craft a digital experience that not only resonated with their audience but also reflected the modern, versatile atmosphere of the venue. The challenge was to deliver an engaging user experience while maintaining the brand identity across various touchpoints and devices.
My Approach
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Brand Identity Refinement: Updated and aligned the visual design to reflect the restaurant’s core values: fusion, quality, and innovation. I made sure that the digital experience matched the elevated, luxurious atmosphere of the restaurant.
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UI/UX Design Process: Led the UX/UI design process to optimize the user flow and create a more intuitive digital experience. This included rearranging and improving platform-specific flows, ensuring ease of navigation, and refining the user journey.
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Color Psychology: Used color psychology to evoke the emotions tied to the restaurant's experience. We carefully chose a color palette reflecting the restaurant's brand, using cool blues for serenity and comfort, and incorporating other tones to convey different emotional states and experiences tied to dining at Ariete. Each section of the user interface was designed to reflect the essence of the culinary journey.
Findings & Insights
✅ Refined User Flow: By reworking the website’s navigation and menus, I simplified the process of making reservations and exploring the menu, making it easier for potential customers to engage with the brand online.
✅ Brand Cohesion: The visual design aligned seamlessly with the luxurious, sophisticated dining experience of the restaurant, ensuring that every digital touchpoint conveyed the same elegance found in the physical space.
✅ Emotionally-Tuned UI: The application of color psychology helped deepen the user experience, ensuring that each interaction felt in tune with the restaurant’s calm, welcoming atmosphere.
✅ Increased Engagement: The modern design and intuitive flow led to higher user engagement on the website, encouraging exploration of the menu and more frequent reservations.
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Business Impact & Results
🎯 Enhanced brand recognition and consistency by aligning the digital presence with the restaurant’s physical experience.
🎯 Improved customer engagement through user-friendly interactions and accessible design elements.
🎯 Contributed to increased reservations by simplifying the booking process and making the restaurant’s digital offerings more inviting.
UI Design Process
Visual Style & Guidelines
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Style Choice: The design incorporated modern minimalism with clean lines, subtle animations, and refined typography to reflect the restaurant’s high-end, Michelin-starred status.
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Guidelines Followed: Followed a responsive design strategy to ensure the website was accessible across all devices, and adhered to modern design principles like Material Design to ensure intuitive and smooth interactions.
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Color Psychology: As mentioned, cool tones (primarily blues) were chosen for a sense of serenity, calm, and comfort, with accent colors used to differentiate sections and convey various emotions tied to the dining experience.
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Platforms & Devices: The UI design was developed with a focus on mobile and desktop devices, ensuring that users could seamlessly interact with the restaurant's digital presence regardless of their device.
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Final Design Learnings: The color choices and UI elements were carefully crafted to evoke feelings of elegance and comfort, aligning with the restaurant’s refined and welcoming atmosphere. The final design allowed the digital experience to mirror the luxury and warmth of the physical space, further enhancing the brand’s identity.
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UI Design Reflection
In the case of Ariete, the ultimate goal was to create a digitally immersive experience that captured the essence of the restaurant and its unique offerings. By applying color psychology and optimizing the user journey, I was able to craft a seamless, luxurious user experience that resonated with the audience.
The design was aimed not only at conveying the restaurant's heritage and modern flair but also at simplifying and enhancing the process of making reservations and engaging with the brand, ensuring increased conversions and engagement.
