The Baking Soldier:

Flyer Template

Quick Overview on The Baking Soldier

The Baking Soldier is a veteran-owned bakery in downtown Tarpon Springs, opened in February 2025 by Navy veteran Hayley Johnson.

The bakery specializes in handcrafted chocolates and baked goods, with standout items including Dubai chocolate, gourmet chocolate bites, and Biscoff cookie butter.

A portion of the proceeds supports local veterans' initiatives, including the Purple Heart Park in Palm Harbor.

The bakery also hosts chocolate classes and wine pairing events.

This image shows Hayley Johnson, the owner of the baking soldier, holding a large sheet of chocolate covered in chocolate decorations while wearing pink gloves. She is in a commercial kitchen.

The Challenge

Hayley Johnson, owner of The Baking Soldier, needed a versatile flyer template for her bakery's upcoming events and holiday promotions. While she had Canva Pro at her disposal, her busy schedule running her business left little time for designing marketing materials from scratch each time she had news to share.

The Solution

After meeting in person to discuss her vision, I set out to create a custom flyer template that honors the vintage aesthetic of her brand. The design needed to stay true to the classic Howard Chandler Christy illustration that inspired her logo, giving Hayley a professional, on-brand template she can easily customize for any occasion.

This is an image of Howard Chandler Christy's poster depicting a woman in a navy uniform and the text reading "Gee!!! I wish I were a man. I'd Join the Navy." As the headline. This is from 1917.

The Preliminary Sketch:

In developing the initial sketch, I focused on preserving the oil and watercolor aesthetic with a neutral, soft color palette. I also ensured the template's versatility by incorporating flexible space for photos when needed. Along with this, I incorporated the Florida roots of The Baking Soldier with the ever-so-recognizable local seagull and waves.

This is an image of a flyer with a watercolor texture image of seagulls and a textured photo of Hayley in pink gloves holding a large bar of chocolate. The headline is a sample text about a Fox 13 news spot in a brown rugged font.

REV 1:

After reviewing the preliminary sketch with Hayley, she felt it leaned too heavily toward a postcard look.

I revised the layout using WW1-era inspiration photos as reference, rethinking both the composition and color scheme to better align with her vision of a vintage-looking poster.

FINAL REVISION

For the final template revision, we returned to the original layout with key refinements to strengthen the design. We removed the seagull and added color emphasis to the contact and location details for better visibility.

At Hayley's request, we retained the torn photo effect to reinforce the worn vintage aesthetic. To complete the design, we incorporated the brand's tagline, "I did something sweet today", alongside an American flag to represent their core values and brand mission.