Plate of Nations
Plate of Nations celebrates South Seattle's incredible restaurant diversity through an annual food festival. As the sole designer and illustrator, I created the visual identity and marketing materials that helped transform it from a grassroots event into a major community celebration supporting over 70 local businesses.
A different kind of restaurant week
Since 2018, I have served as the sole designer and illustrator for this annual event, which began in 2013. I revamped the existing logo, redesigned the website from a showcase format into a user-friendly directory, and developed mailers, online advertisements, social media assets, and printed menus, collaborating closely with a copywriter and the project manager.
I developed food illustrations using appetising reds, oranges, and yellows, accented with greens and purples to reflect the diversity of dishes featured in the campaign. I paired these visuals with clear, accessible sans serif typography (Champion in alternating weights for headlines) to ensure broad community engagement, including non-native English speakers. This design approach helped drive participation, growing the festival from 13 participating restaurants in 2018 to over 70 in 2025.
2025 Poster
2024 Poster
2025 Mailer
The website redesign was crucial as the event scaled up. I transformed it from a portfolio-style showcase suitable for a dozen restaurants into a searchable directory where customers can easily browse by cuisine type—whether seeking vegetarian options, Ethiopian restaurants for injera-lovers, or other specific dining preferences, including a map visual to see which participating restaurants were in their closest neighbourhood.
Homepage
Restaurant Directory Page
Individual Restaurant Page
Plate of Nations in Action!