Elephants Delicatessen: Brand Design, Packaging & Website Case Study

Responsive website design for Elephants Delicatessen featuring gourmet food offerings, showcasing art deco elements and whimsical branding, with the tagline "Great Local Foods From Scratch."

Elephants Delicatessen has been a beloved part of the Portland community for decades, serving gourmet local food made from scratch since 1979.

When Elephants came to us needing a new website, we were thrilled to take on the challenge of refreshing this longstanding, storied brand. We conducted extensive interviews with Elephants stakeholders in order to determine the direction their branding needed to take. We worked in collaboration with these stakeholders throughout the web design and development process, ensuring that we honored Elephants’ history as we helped them to create the future of their brand.

Website Design

Elephants’ new website showcases their traditional brand colors, their memorable art deco illustrations, and their unparalleled sense of mischievous humor. We included small details like elephant link icons, callouts featuring beautiful art deco illustrations, and decorative chalkboards to create the sense of being inside a real Elephants deli.

Elephants Delicatessen website section featuring vibrant art deco illustration and bold text promoting catering event venues, emphasizing whimsical design and user-friendly navigation.

Elephants Delicatessen website interface featuring "Local Pickup & Delivery" section, showcasing a gourmet chicken sandwich with fries in a checkered paper, emphasizing online ordering for dinner baskets and totes.

Mobile Optimization

This new website is easy to navigate from any device and includes updateable menus for every location.

The site features an online Elephants’ store and a variety of ordering options that make getting your favorite Elephants’ dish as simple as clicking.

Elegant dining room at Elephants Delicatessen featuring round tables with white tablecloths, black chiavari chairs, and floral centerpieces, designed for a whimsical yet sophisticated atmosphere.

Fried chicken sandwich with pickles in a bun, served with crispy French fries and a side of ketchup, presented in a green basket with black and white checkered paper.

Cinnamon roll drizzled with icing on a white plate, showcasing Elephants Delicatessen's gourmet bakery offerings.

“Elephants had some interesting requirements that needed careful planning to combine different department needs into a coherent eCommerce experience.”

Tristan MacInnis

Technical Director

Hands holding a sandwich with turkey and lettuce in front of an Elephants Delicatessen bag and a bag of potato chips, showcasing the gourmet food offerings of Elephants Delicatessen.

Photography

We also took extensive photographs of Elephants’ many Portland locations in order to showcase their delicious food and delightful stores,

Colorful roasted vegetable medley in a white dish, accompanied by stuffed red peppers, a platter of assorted fries, and a bowl of creamy dip, showcasing Elephants Delicatessen's gourmet food offerings.

Assorted jars of marinated olives, including a Hot Tunisian Blend and roasted red pepper-stuffed varieties, displayed on a wooden surface, showcasing Elephants Delicatessen's gourmet food offerings.

“A strong discovery and strategy process allowed us to key in on important use cases and identify important parts of the site that needed focused attention. We were able to retain much of the whimsy and fun design elements of their pre-existing site while modernizing the design and improving the user experience.”

Tijani Stewart

Web Designer