Being a mum while running a business can be hectic. Valentina, the owner of LATINA PLANT POWER, was super time-restricted having many responsibilities at the same time. Looking for assistance on her truck wrapping and menu boards, she was looking for someone to give her time back for the things that matter, increasing awareness around veganism and making a living for her family.
Who is HelloLatina?
Latina Plant Power, also known as HelloLatina is owned and run by Valentina Torres.
A small local business in Perth, Australia, Valentina Torres is a young mother and business entrepreneur passionate about sharing the culture of South American food and spreading awareness around plant-friendly food. Discovering veganism, Valentina became passionate to spread the message that animals are our friends instead of our food.
For protection of Valentina's privacy, I've decided to not showcase photos of her. Instead, I'd rather showcase imagery of her delicious food.
Photos are from her Facebook page where you can get to know her better there.
So... what did she need help with?
Previously Valentina felt unhappy with her previous designer’s work. She had gone to a Printer who had designed her truck but she felt off about it. She had discussed with me that her brand wasn’t being properly represented and the design felt “tacky”. Being a mum and business owner, she wanted to make sure she was investing in a design that would represent her brand long term as truck wrapping is not a cheap expense.
Above were two design concepts that didn't go through.
She didn't have a style guide, so these concepts gave her a couple of creative directions to choose from and would help future designs if I or anyone were to work with her.
From there, she had chosen this concept because it had featured a lot more green (and that vibe well with her sustainable cause that she supported).
In that same week, I worked with Valentina to revise the chosen design. Thankfully, the printers were kind and patient to work with as setting up for a food truck turned out to be a nightmare for me. But I managed thanks to the support of her chosen printer, Signarama!
It also happen to be same printer who designed her former truck wrapping that Valentina happen to be unhappy with... (not awkward at all.....) But heck, the girl who designed it happened to help me out with the print set up and was so helpful about it! I was so thankful for the support from another designer! You just never know sometimes!
Makes me glad creatives are nice to each other!
And....good news! The truck was wrapped just in time for the Vegan Food Festival in Perth! The relief! It was so great to see the design on the truck...! I was amazed at what I can pull off in just a week's time.
I'll never do it again though!
(Come follow me on LinkedIn for a future article on freelancing tips!)
And guess what...?
The story continues because Valentina contacts me a few months later to do a menu signboard to go with her truck! This time, I had learnt from my lesson. While I was the one who undercharged for the truck wrapping before, I had given her a new quote for the menus which were more than the truck. I transparently explained that the case was I made the mistake (just own up if you make mistakes.) and that this price better justifies my time for the work. I had also asked for a more flexible timeframe and if this wasn't possible, I would have to charge more.
Interestingly, having respect for yourself pays off, because Valentina really did like the designs I created for her and she was signed up for the menu design.
While Valentina didn’t have a style guide, the final design of the truck would influence future designs as it created a style reference. This style reference was transferred to the menu design. Using colour blocks to create hierarchy and visual interest while a simple grid system to view the menu. I used circles to show the price and utilise the pink to be important text parts while the green acts as a background colour.
The initial design was cluttered so the revised version had it toned down and considerations were made for customers who view the truck. Valentina discussed that it was better that the menu title stood out rather than the prices. It was better to not overwhelm customers so we kept it clean with more white space in the refined design.
