Project Overview

Client: 86dsd Artisanal Asian Fusion Food
Industry: Food Industry
Project Timeline: 8 weeks (Nov 2024 – Jan 2025)
My Role: Lead Product Designer & Website Developer
Tools: Figma, Framer, Canva, FigJam, Notion,

Background

The great American composer, Leonard Bernstein, once said, "In order to achieve great things, you need a plan and not quite enough time." 86dsd was exactly that. The founders are two up-and-coming food vendors who wanted to share their passion for all things fusion food with fellow San Diegans and they needed to completely revamp their website within a lean deadline. And while I'm used to iteration after iteration, there was a sense of momentum and relief in pushing through deadlines to ultimately deliver a product that best encapsulates its founders and vision.

What Do My Clients Want?

Megan and Nate wanted to elevate their WordPress site into a professional, scalable platform that reflected 86dsd’s brand, supported catering growth, and strengthened their digital presence through clearer CTAs, cohesive branding, and improved visuals.

Challenges & Opportunities

Drawing inspiration from Asian fusion restaurants and local pop-ups, the design reflects 86dsd’s bold identity while helping the brand establish credibility without losing its grassroots roots.

Phase 1 – Discovery & Onboarding

Understanding Pain Points & Defining Goals

During the discovery call, I identified the founders’ challenges with their existing site and their goal to grow 86dsd from pop-ups into a full-time food business. With momentum from local markets, they needed a more robust platform than WordPress to support catering inquiries, orders, and brand credibility. I proposed a focused redesign centered on intuitive navigation, curated menus, and conversion-driven inquiry flows- capturing the authentic ethos of 86dsd as a San Diego-based food brand.

Phase 2 – Ideation

Early Drafts & Forging Brand Identity

During the beta testing phase, I shaped a cohesive brand identity such as defining the color palette, typography, navigation, photography, and founder storytelling. To elevate their online presence, I recommended professional food photography and drew inspiration from Asian fusion brands and local pop-ups to create a bold, polished identity that still felt maintained 86d's grassroots energy.

Phase 3 – Touchpoints

Staying on Target

We collaborated on a weekly basis, with the exception of holidays, to ensure quality control and alignment on deliverables. I documented each meeting with clear expectations and next steps to keep the project moving smoothly. In addition, I partnered with a fellow designer on the brand’s new logo, experimenting with and advising on color palette options to support 86d's evolving identity.

Phase 4 – Nearing the Deadline

Refining the Details

In order to effectively communicate their story and branding, I chose a visual-first approach – photos of the founders and a ticker scroll featuring their food and services to immediately engage the users. In addition, I designed their menu and ghostwrote the food descriptions to ensure the language matched the bold, fusion-forward identity of the brand.

Phase 5 – Handing Off the Final Product

Ensuring Quality and Client Satisfaction

As my time with Nate and Megan neared the end, I ensured that their domains were transferred over and was on retainer for 30 days to ensure client satisfaction and to troubleshoot any potential issues with their website. As of the current, 86dsd has found a permanent residence catering Asian-Latino fusion food in the heart of North Park.

Landing Page

The 86dsd redesign translates the brand’s bold, fusion-forward food into a confident digital experience led by strong typography, high-contrast color, and immersive food photography. The streamlined layout prioritizes visual clarity, clear navigation, and strategic CTAs, guiding users toward ordering, catering, and founder storytelling. The result elevates 86dsd from a pop-up presence into a cohesive, growth-ready brand rooted in community and craft.

About Us

The About Us perfectly encapsulates the dynamic between the duo where Nate crafts bold, inventive flavors, while Megan brings the organization and strategy that turns vision into reality – together shaping a distinctive Asian fusion experience.

Inquiry & Catering Request

The catering and inquiry forms were designed to minimize friction while capturing high-intent leads. Clear input hierarchy, mobile-first layouts, and purposeful field selection ensure users can submit requests quickly, while giving the team the information needed to respond efficiently and convert interest into bookings.

Menu & Location Page

The menu and location poster were designed for speed, clarity, and adaptability – making it easy for customers to understand offerings and find the pop-up across digital and physical touchpoints. Strong hierarchy, legible typography, and brand-forward visuals ensure the system scales with 86dsd’s fast-paced, pop-up-driven operations.

Reflections

Key Takeaways

1. Designing for early-stage brands requires clarity over pretty pixels

With 86dsd still in the nascent stage of establishing their identity, the focus was on creating a clear, confident foundation prioritizing strong visuals, straightforward navigation, and direct CTAs to drive conversions as opposed to sweating the details. In this case, less really is more.

2. Visual storytelling makes or break food-businesses

It goes without saying people eat with their eyes so naturally strong photography and branding were essential in establishing social proof and aligning with the 86dsd's mission.

3. Brand voice and UX are inseparable

Ghostwriting menu descriptions and refining copy reinforced that tone, language, and hierarchy play just as large a role as visuals in shaping trust and personality.

4. Constraints can sharpen design decisions

Working within a lean timeline and early-stage content pushed intentional choices, resulting in a site that feels bold, focused, and scalable as the brand grows

Visual storytelling is critical for food-based businesses.
Elevating photography, layout, and motion (such as ticker scrolls) proved essential in translating the in-person energy of their pop-ups into a digital experience that felt craveable and alive.

What I'd Do Differently

Given more time, I would've expanded usability testing and second-round iterations on a grassroots level with their direct clientele at live events. This would include user interviews, surveys, and observational testing to validate navigation clarity, identify friction points, and refine key flows.