If I Wasn’t a Designer, I’d Run a Food Truck
If I wasn’t a designer, there’s a good chance you’d find me parked on a downtown corner slinging cauliflower wings out of a bright yellow truck. But since I don’t know the first thing about food licensing, truck maintenance, or keeping ranch cold on a summer day, this little dream is going to stay on paper.
And honestly—that’s kind of the fun of it. Cauli’s isn’t just a food truck. It’s the food truck brand I’d build if I ever swapped design tools for fryer baskets.
Meet Cauli’s
The concept is simple: fried cauliflower wings, two sizes—small for $5, large for $10. If you’re hungry (or just want the full experience), $2 more turns it into a combo with veggie sticks and a can of soda. Flavor level ranges from 1 to 5, with 1 being “my grandma could eat this” and 5 being “why did I do this to myself?” (I personally will never try a 5)
The name Cauli’s is short, playful, and easy to shout across a busy festival street. The logo leans into the humor—a cauliflower head with a cheeky face—and the type pairs bold, friendly curves with a hand-lettered tagline: vegetarian wings.
The Truck
Designing the truck was probably the most fun part of this exercise. The body is drenched in a punchy yellow that demands attention from half a block away. The playful cauliflower icons repeat across the surface like polka dots, and the oversized cauliflower face anchors the design with personality.
The menu is painted directly on the truck in a hand-drawn script. It’s intentionally minimal: no confusing options, no “build your own.” Just wings, combos, and spice levels. In my head, the simplicity makes ordering quick, but in reality, it probably saves me from having to design a fifty-page menu board.
The Food
Every brand project deserves a hero shot, and this is mine. Golden-brown cauliflower wings, crisp veggie sticks, and creamy ranch—all laid out in a yellow checkered tray.
It’s not real food (yet - please don’t yell at me for using ai to generate an image), but this image sells the dream: affordable comfort food with a wink and a smile. The bright yellow is strong enough to stand on it’s own that you don’t have to waist money ordering speciality containers and packaging. Just paper boats, checkered paper slips, and ranch cups.
Why It Matters
For me, Cauli’s represents the overlap between branding and imagination. I’ll never be a food truck operator, but the design principles I’d use for one—clarity, humor, bold visuals, and simplicity—are the same ones I rely on every day as a designer.
The truck, the logo, the menu: they’re all playful, but they’re also consistent. Every touchpoint tells the same story. That’s the heart of good design, whether you’re working on a SaaS platform, or a cauliflower wings food truck.
At the end of the day, Cauli’s is the kind of project that makes me glad I’m a designer. I get to explore a dream, visualize it, and share it—without ever having to worry about grease traps or generator maintenance.
And who knows? Maybe someday someone else will take this idea (willing to partner with an entrepreneur FYI) and actually park it on the corner. If they do, I’ll be first in line.
