Dutch Hatch | Dutch Fries Restaurant (Newcastle, UK)
Client: Dutch Hatch
Role: Brand Designer
Date: June 2025
Overview
Dutch Hatch is a Dutch fries restaurant in Newcastle, UK, inspired by Amsterdam’s vibrant street food culture. The visual identity blends playful elements and bold typography with a commercial, non-minimal aesthetic. The name “Hatch” reflects the concept of a takeaway window—open, inviting, and urban. The brand is designed to stand out in a competitive street food scene with plans to expand into dine-in experiences.
A Structured Approach to a Maximal Brand
The client made it clear from the beginning that they did not want a minimal or overly refined identity. The brand needed to feel lively, direct, and “visible” in a crowded urban street food setting. The challenge was to create a system that felt bold and expressive without becoming chaotic or inconsistent. I addressed this by building visual cohesion through custom letterforms, intentional use of recurring visual weights, and color anchoring.
Logo Design Concept
With the letters shaped to be tall, rounded, and crispy — evoking the look of homemade fries — and subtle forms suggesting a hatch also considered, a distinctive and flexible branding approach was chosen. Rather than relying on a strict geometrical approach, the focus was on shaping forms more organically. This allowed for expansion beyond fries, the introduction of new products, and clear communication with the audience.
Colors
Orange is used to represent Dutch heritage.
Yellow symbolizes fries and also refers to the hatch.
Black is employed both to shape the hatch and to reflect its frequent use in Dutch graphic design, architecture, and fashion — where it conveys clarity, purpose, and modernity.
Strategic Typography as a Brand Foundation
Typography became the foundation of the brand, allowing for easy adaptation as new products are added. Instead of relying on a fixed logo, I created a type-based system that supports variation across packaging, signage, and future brand extensions. This gave the identity both consistency and room to grow.
A Tagline with a British Bond
Noticing the need for a unifying voice, I proposed the tagline “Dutch Hatch: From Holland With Sauce”, which the client approved and adopted. Inspired by the iconic James Bond film From Russia with Love, the line playfully links Dutch heritage with British pop culture — a nod to the restaurant’s UK location. It adds personality and consistency across packaging, ads, and social media, helping the brand feel both international and locally rooted.
