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Carlita Bryant

MFA in Graphic Design - 3 Yr Path — Graduate Graphic Design
Course:
Graduate Studio 4
Faculty:
Gerardo Herrera
Term:
2025 Spring

Saludos Donut Bar

Drawing on personal experience working jobs during nontraditional business hours, I opened a community-oriented donut shop dedicated to bridging the gap among health, convenience, and flavor. Through in-depth research on strategy development and the embracement of new AI tools, I took advantage of a niche market opportunity that welcomes hungry hustlers and created a brand that feels like home, no matter the time of day. 

Process:

The bridge between culture and technology was made possible by a well-developed strategic pitch deck that leveraged current market trends, personal interviews, and an investigation into startup development. Each component of the project came to life following an established value proposition, carefully considered to cater to the intended audience. They were then sketched, discussed, digitally realized, and passionately pitched. Process Deck can be found in the project link.

Learning Outcomes:

This project was an opportunity to learn about introducing AI usage to my design workflow. My hand sketches were inputted to various AI tools, which allowed me to get Photoshop-ready images to fully realize each brand touchpoint. In addition, the physical prototyping of the packaging strengthened my skills in 3D modeling and printing, and analog methods for production.  

Project Website:
https://carlitabryant.com/saludos-donut-bar
Tags:
Branding,
Identity Design,
Packaging,
Rapid Prototyping,
Research-Based Design
Late nights, early mornings, and everything in between are considered when designing spatial graphics meant to elicit the feeling of comfort to visitors. Hand-drawn in Procreate, each illustration of a donut reflects its flavor-inspired personality. Generated using ChatGPT and Vizcom based on my own sketches, and composited using Photoshop.
The U.S. alone includes 25 million people who work shifts at nontraditional hours, not including the number of students who are also up at these times. Many of whom struggle to find healthier options, putting them at higher risk for chronic illnesses. And, while this is true, donuts are still one of the top breakfast bakery items sold on menus. Saludos Donut Bar is serving Los Angeles County’s underserved late-night donut market (~$21.6M–$151.2M), driven by increasing demand from shift workers, students, and night owls seeking healthier, more convenient options.
Packaging design considered sustainability and donut safety by introducing paper pulp material for a perch-inspired, commute-friendly form. Colorful graphics and illustrations extended to packaging labels, giving a friendly warmth to donut lovers while also being easily recognizable at all hours of the night. Working SolidWorks and Keyshot knowledge was applied to the physical manifestation of the donut packaging.
A welcoming environment was an essential piece of what makes Saludos the brand that it is. Leaning on market research to help me understand what that means for a food brand, especially at night, I found that nostalgia brings the comfort needed to make customers feel at home. I used a mix of skills, both in Photoshop and AI prompting, to develop imagery that would create this warmth.
The packaging offers a durable, earth-friendly, and reliable method of commuting with donuts. And, while a physical donut shop was important to the brand, solving the problem of convenience and accessibility meant adapting the donut shop business model to today’s technological advancements. Images generated with hand sketches, intentional ChatGPT prompting, and photo-retouching in Photoshop.
The development of this start-up had a clear goal: to make people’s lives easier. With the implementation of strategic ways to make healthier food options more accessible, Saludos Donut Bar is equipped with the right tools to grow into its potential as a real-life brand. This project taught me about how to embrace new technologies in ways that align with my own approach to graphic design.