Intro
The assignment had provided us a freedom of choice with respect to the products we would like to sell on our webshop. When we first sat down with the team, we soon realized that we have a common attraction for sophisticated and elegant brands. This had led us to the decision that our brand was going to be built around specialty coffee. Who knows this scene, knows also that brands - while providing exceptional quality - must be really creative with their design, to be able to stand out from the fierce competition. This fact had provided the creative freedom and challenge within our project.
Our product
Research
We started with making research on already existing brands, and their design language. The scope of brands is immensly wide, but we have gained a strong starting point, and direction which resonated with our plans. They use minimalistic lines and subtle colors, but dare to play with contrast, which provides elegance. A few of them had already started to package into boxes, and that opens up a new design-dimension. A few of these companies are mentioned below.
Onyx Coffee
Copper Cow Coffee
Stumptown Coffee
Prodigal Coffee
What potential have we found in our market research?
The global specialty coffee market size was estimated at USD 21,916.2 million in 2022 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.3% from 2023 to 2030.
The demand for specialty coffee has been experiencing significant growth in recent years, with numerous factors contributing to this growing interest. Among these factors are changing consumer preferences, a focus on sustainability, and the influence of millennials, who demonstrate a strong affinity for coffee consumption.
As a result vendors are focusing on product diversification, the introduction of new flavors, and brand extensions to increase earnings. Hence, the increasing consumption of coffee worldwide is expected to drive the demand for specialty coffee during the forecast period.
The global specialty coffee market size was estimated at USD 21,916.2 million in 2022 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.3% from 2023 to 2030.
The demand for specialty coffee has been experiencing significant growth in recent years, with numerous factors contributing to this growing interest. Among these factors are changing consumer preferences, a focus on sustainability, and the influence of millennials, who demonstrate a strong affinity for coffee consumption.
As a result vendors are focusing on product diversification, the introduction of new flavors, and brand extensions to increase earnings. Hence, the increasing consumption of coffee worldwide is expected to drive the demand for specialty coffee during the forecast period.
values
Having a direction in our heads, it was time to focus on our brand values. We have set the following values, and they played a central role in shaping our brand.
Moves your soul
Like a good music, you would stand up right away and dance.
Be a Good Citizen
We source our high quality beans directly from farms in Ethiopia, Kenya, Brazil and Costa Rica, where farmers are paid 2x the market rate to ensure a higher quality of life and to avoid exploitation.
Sustainable Practices
We use eco-friendly packaging, source coffee beans from organic suppliers, and reduce waste.
Exploration and Experimentation
We offer many varieties for diverse coffee lovers, catering the most developed palates, including curiosities like Gesha, with its tea-like notes.
Promote Well-being
We offer our customers healthy food options, such as fresh fruit and whole-grain snacks, along with coffee.
So, we have arrived to our name, building on the first brand value.
Moves your soul
Like a good music, you would stand up right away and dance.
Be a Good Citizen
We source our high quality beans directly from farms in Ethiopia, Kenya, Brazil and Costa Rica, where farmers are paid 2x the market rate to ensure a higher quality of life and to avoid exploitation.
Sustainable Practices
We use eco-friendly packaging, source coffee beans from organic suppliers, and reduce waste.
Exploration and Experimentation
We offer many varieties for diverse coffee lovers, catering the most developed palates, including curiosities like Gesha, with its tea-like notes.
Promote Well-being
We offer our customers healthy food options, such as fresh fruit and whole-grain snacks, along with coffee.
So, we have arrived to our name, building on the first brand value.
soul brew coffee
It is trite to simply use the energizing aspect of coffee
A great cup of coffee really touches your soul
Drinking something warm makes you feel more comfortable and cheerful
A great cup of coffee really touches your soul
Drinking something warm makes you feel more comfortable and cheerful
Target audience
We have derived our audience from the research findings.
People of the age 18+, mostly who prefer premium, well picked, flawless-quality coffee, from all over the world at a competitive price. And those who just want to have some fun, tasting amazing things.
People of the age 18+, mostly who prefer premium, well picked, flawless-quality coffee, from all over the world at a competitive price. And those who just want to have some fun, tasting amazing things.
moodboard
Building on the foundation we had created, we started to collect targeted inspiration for our brand. Selecting the best, we created the moodboard on the right, which served as a guide for the aesthetics, placing us into a certain mood. We can see tons of natural color, that are rich, elegeant, but remain subtle enough. They show sophistication, and warmness, like a good cup of coffee. Our color palette mirrors them. There is a big emphasis on the typography. Typefaces like Analogue and Fitzgerald are also elegant, since they are Serif types, but they are not too sharp, having a bit of bubbly-ness, which can be related to fluids. Additionally, the collection provides the general mood and soul of coffee drinking.
logo design
Logo design is among the most challenging parts of creating a great brand. It must work on different platforms and in various sizes. It should reflect the whole brand, but it can't be too crowded. Moreover, it must be easy enough to understand, just to mention a few criterias.
All the team members had created a few preliminary sketches, so we could decide on the direction, then I took over the logo design. We were talking a lot about how we could emphasize the motive of soul, and this is how we landed on the idea of meditation.
So, I started to work on the idea, which is in the center of sketch examples. In order to make it work, many iterations were made. I did not want to use the coffee bean directly, and I intended to create a more cohesive, natural look, this is how I have come to the idea of drawing it as a continuous line, which reflects fluidity and elegance as well. It still has the sitting meditative posture, and the body shows not just a "thinking arm placement" but the curves of coffee bean too. In this line, we can find the letters S, B, and C, which are the starting letters of Soul Brew Coffee. I had to get rid of the "aura lines", to make it less busy, and after a few iterations on the head part, I decided on a simple circle due to the same considerations.
All the team members had created a few preliminary sketches, so we could decide on the direction, then I took over the logo design. We were talking a lot about how we could emphasize the motive of soul, and this is how we landed on the idea of meditation.
So, I started to work on the idea, which is in the center of sketch examples. In order to make it work, many iterations were made. I did not want to use the coffee bean directly, and I intended to create a more cohesive, natural look, this is how I have come to the idea of drawing it as a continuous line, which reflects fluidity and elegance as well. It still has the sitting meditative posture, and the body shows not just a "thinking arm placement" but the curves of coffee bean too. In this line, we can find the letters S, B, and C, which are the starting letters of Soul Brew Coffee. I had to get rid of the "aura lines", to make it less busy, and after a few iterations on the head part, I decided on a simple circle due to the same considerations.
the brand
The same principles and the moodboard-findings had guided the search for typefaces.
We used (Serif) Miller Banner as logo text and headings, for its sophistication, elegance and the perfect amount of bulkiness. As body text, we used (Sans Serif) Lato for its clean, simple, modern design, and its synergy with Miller Banner.
As a culmination of all the previous work, I had created product visualizations, experimenting with different package types and color combinations from our color palette. So we had enough content to fill up our webshop prototype.
We used (Serif) Miller Banner as logo text and headings, for its sophistication, elegance and the perfect amount of bulkiness. As body text, we used (Sans Serif) Lato for its clean, simple, modern design, and its synergy with Miller Banner.
As a culmination of all the previous work, I had created product visualizations, experimenting with different package types and color combinations from our color palette. So we had enough content to fill up our webshop prototype.
I have also experimented with creating an embossed text effect, which could be placed on the package boxes. In 2 dimension, they look good, but when I applied them on the boxes, they look unrealistic due to the perspective warp, so I opted not to use them in the digital design. Though, it would be a nice design aspect for real packaging.
User journey
The team has mapped the user journey, which has provided the foundation for the webshop structure.
webshop design
Our webshop design can bee seen on the following figures. That is where all the different elements have met. While the left hand side shows the low fidelity wireframes, we can see the final version on the right, both desktop and mobile versions.
Home page screens
Product listing screens
Product screens
Checkout screens
references
https://www.driveresearch.com/market-research-company-blog/coffee-survey
https://onyxcoffeelab.com/products/panama-el-burro-gesha-natural?variant=40516709023842
https://coppercowcoffee.com/products/salted-caramel-pour-over-coffee
https://www.stumptowncoffee.com/products/guatemala-el-injerto-pacamara
https://getprodigal.com/products/prodigal-espresso-milk-blend
https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/specialty-coffee-market-report
Adobe Stock
https://onyxcoffeelab.com/products/panama-el-burro-gesha-natural?variant=40516709023842
https://coppercowcoffee.com/products/salted-caramel-pour-over-coffee
https://www.stumptowncoffee.com/products/guatemala-el-injerto-pacamara
https://getprodigal.com/products/prodigal-espresso-milk-blend
https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/specialty-coffee-market-report
Adobe Stock
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