Harland Sanders Cafe and Museum

While co-oping at FRCH NELSON, I hand-illustrated environmental and mercantile artwork for the re-design of Harland Sanders Cafe and Museum in Corbin, Kentucky.

Context

Harland Sanders Cafe is the original fried chicken restaurant founded by Colonel Harland Sanders that eventually grew into the global KFC franchise. It is now a museum and an active KFC restaurant.

Opportunity

Find unique opportunities to communicate the story of Colonel Sanders’ fascinating life into the customer’s experience.

Audience

Corbin Residents
Familiar and proud of the cafe museum’s history the role it plays in the town’s identity.

Tourists/Travelers
Familiar with the franchise but may be less familiar with the Colonel’s story.

Hand-Drawn Southern Toile Illustrations

I hand-illustrated KFC and Sanders Cafe’s iconic imagery. Hand-drawn style feels rustic, traditional, and unique to the historic location.

These drawing illustrate historic imagery, home-style ingredients, and vintage menu items.

Spice Room Southern Toile Wallpaper Pattern

Illustrations were incorporated into a southern toile wallpaper pattern for one of the Cafe’s dining rooms. The wallpaper embeds elements of the Colonel’s story into the customer’s dining experience.

Cafe Identity Lockup Design

The colonel’s name has been engraved on the cafe window for years. I digitized the letters and made it into a homey graphic identity specific to the cafe.

Merchandise Design

I used my illustrations and the graphic identity to create gift shop merchandise so customers could take pieces of the environment and the history home with them.

Colonel Sanders Timeline

I curated, hand-illustrated, and designed the layout for a three-part timeline chronicling Colonel Sander’s life and the history of Sanders Cafe over 100 years.