Branding help

I am in a hole where I just can't think of anything. I have a client starting a juice bar and where it is located is in the old port area of twin backing into the old wharf. The owner loves the wharf and it is a huge part of history for this town. I some how need to come up with branding that is about a juice bar that incorporates the wharf feel. The name is not set yet but they are thinking along the lines of "wharf side juice" I also want to help them come up with a new name. The feel of the shop will be a rustic look they are leaning towards a rustic traditional look and feel but with a slight edge. I don't think they are up up for anything left of field. Any help on where to start would be great

That will be £900

Brilliant, Wac!

They really need to sort out the name first before you can start on any branding, it's two separate jobs.

Read up on the history of the wharf, what was there, what happened, anything historical? Any discoveries you find can lead into branding, with historical images and information incorporated into the bar.

I was working at a studio recently by a canal in Manchester. There's a bar/restaurant across the road called Dukes 92, named because it's situated on the 92nd (and final) lock of the Bridgwater Canal. However, someone was telling me that in the past it had a different name of Dukes 1, because the 92nd lock was actually the first installed. But because the engineer who built the canal was a Yorkshireman, he wanted the named first lock to be in Yorkshire not Manchester, so he swapped the order around.

I have just finished an assignment that entailed branding and logo design .. I was amazed at how essential it is to
1. do research on the topic. esp on competitors . Study their designs and work out what would give your client a competitive edge over the others.
2. as suggested, work with client to think of a caption. A name that encapsulates the theme and tone of the project. Brainstorm with people. Kids are often a source for great catchy names ( but maybe not in this case)
3. Then give your client a questionnaire that squeezes some ideas from them. eg. let them give you images, themes, names they like.

You say they may not be left of field. You can convince them to be with the right presentation and justification of your mock-up designs. You don't have to find your inspiration from other juice bars...but look at all the great branding and logo designs out there.
Look at those that won awards, especially in the minimalist design range . Keeping it simple with lots of texture will automatically keep it rustic.