Aqua Grill Brand Exploration and Restaurant Merchandise Design

Since opening in 1988, Aqua Grill has become a Northeast Florida dining institution

Located in Sawgrass Village in Ponte Vedra Beach, the restaurant has built a loyal following by offering an experience that feels polished without being overly formal. It is equally suited for a special evening out, a business dinner or a relaxing meal after a round of golf.

Aqua Grill’s versatility is a big part of its lasting appeal. Guests can enjoy fresh seafood inspired by the restaurant’s coastal surroundings, order a great steak or explore an eclectic menu designed to offer something for nearly every occasion. That balance of upscale and approachable has helped Aqua Grill remain a staple of the Ponte Vedra Beach community for decades.

For 63 Visual, the opportunity to work with a local business of this stature was both exciting and meaningful. We were honored when the Aqua Grill ownership team approached us to participate in a creative exploration of the restaurant’s visual identity.

Exploring the Brand of a Northeast Florida Landmark

Established businesses present a unique branding challenge. A visual identity is never just a collection of colors, typography and graphic elements. Over time, it becomes connected to the memories and experiences people associate with the business.

For longtime Aqua Grill customers, the restaurant’s identity represents decades of dinners, celebrations, family gatherings, business meetings and post-golf meals. Any proposed change needed to respect that history while exploring how the brand could become more flexible and expressive.

Our creative process began by studying the qualities that make Aqua Grill distinctive. The restaurant is coastal, but it is not a casual seafood shack. It offers elevated dining, but it remains comfortable and welcoming. It is deeply connected to Ponte Vedra Beach, Sawgrass Village and the surrounding golf community while still attracting guests from across Northeast Florida.

These characteristics led to a brand direction centered around the idea of “Eclectic Fare. Coastal Flair.” The phrase captures Aqua Grill’s ability to offer a diverse dining experience while remaining firmly rooted in its coastal Florida setting.

Restaurant Logo Design and Identity Exploration

The visual exploration included several potential Aqua Grill logo configurations and secondary identity elements. The goal was to create a system that felt clean, established and contemporary while retaining the recognizable character of the existing brand.

The primary wordmark incorporates a stylized wave and seashell within the letterforms, creating a subtle connection to the water and the restaurant’s fresh seafood offerings. A restrained palette of aqua blue, deep coastal green and white gives the identity a crisp appearance that feels appropriate for both upscale dining and more casual applications.

We also developed a range of circular seals, scallop-shaped badges, alternate wordmarks and stacked logo arrangements. These secondary marks allowed us to explore references to Aqua Grill’s history, including its 1988 founding date, Ponte Vedra Beach location and longstanding presence in Sawgrass Village.

Together, these elements demonstrated how the brand could extend beyond a single primary logo. A flexible identity system gives a restaurant different tools for signage, apparel, social media, menus, promotional materials and special events while maintaining a consistent overall personality.

Honoring the History Behind the Original Aqua Grill Logo

Ultimately, the decision was made not to replace Aqua Grill’s primary logo. The existing identity carried considerable historical and sentimental value for the ownership team. After serving the restaurant for many years, it had become a recognizable part of the Aqua Grill experience.

That outcome is an important and completely valid part of the branding process. A creative exploration does not always need to result in a dramatic transformation. Sometimes its greatest value comes from examining the brand from a new perspective, identifying what should be preserved and discovering opportunities to expand the identity without changing its most familiar element.

In this case, the process reinforced the emotional equity already present in the Aqua Grill name and logo. It also created a broader visual vocabulary that could support the restaurant in fresh and useful ways.

Custom Restaurant Merchandise and Supporting Graphics

Although the primary Aqua Grill logo remained unchanged, the project did produce a collection of merchandise concepts and supporting brand graphics. These “brand tidbits” gave the restaurant additional ways to celebrate its personality, history and connection to the local community.

One direction featured a detailed illustration of the Aqua Grill building, transforming its Sawgrass Village location into a distinctive piece of artwork. The architectural illustration was paired with the restaurant name, Ponte Vedra Beach location and “Eclectic Fare. Coastal Flair.” messaging to create a design well suited for T-shirts, posters and other commemorative merchandise.

A fishing-themed graphic celebrated Aqua Grill’s reputation for fresh seafood with a vintage-inspired fish illustration and bold lettering. Another concept leaned into the restaurant’s proximity to some of Northeast Florida’s most recognizable golf destinations with an Aqua Grill Golf Club design featuring golf balls, crossed clubs and location-based details.

Additional badge designs referenced the restaurant’s 1988 founding date and Ponte Vedra Beach roots. These compact graphics were created to work especially well on hats, shirts, drinkware and other branded items where the full restaurant logo might not always be the most engaging solution.

The result was a collection of graphics that felt connected to the established Aqua Grill identity while offering more personality and variety. Rather than replacing the primary brand, these elements gave it room to expand.

A Rewarding Collaboration With the Aqua Grill Team

Creative exploration can be valuable even when it does not lead to a complete rebrand. The Aqua Grill project gave our team an opportunity to work with the ownership of a respected local restaurant, investigate new visual possibilities and create supporting artwork that could live alongside an established identity.

It was a fun and rewarding collaboration from beginning to end. We appreciated the ownership team’s openness throughout the process and their willingness to explore what the next chapter of the Aqua Grill brand might look like while remaining mindful of the history that made it meaningful.

As a Jacksonville Beach design company, 63 Visual especially values opportunities to work with longstanding Northeast Florida businesses. These organizations help define the culture and character of our community. Aqua Grill has been doing exactly that since 1988, and we were proud to play a small part in its ongoing story.

Restaurant Branding and Merchandise Design by 63 Visual

63 Visual creates strategic brand identities, custom logos, merchandise graphics, packaging and supporting visual systems for restaurants and businesses throughout Jacksonville, Ponte Vedra Beach and Northeast Florida.

Whether a business needs a completely new identity or wants to explore new ways to build upon an established brand, our process is designed to uncover ideas that feel distinctive, useful and authentic. The Aqua Grill project is a great example of how thoughtful design exploration can generate meaningful new creative assets while respecting the history customers already know and value.