Kahvi Blend Brand Identity
Logo, Color Scheme, Typography, Icons, Social Media Headers, and Style Guide.
Kahvi Blend is a new, woman-owned small business opening in a neighborhood going through gentrification. They source all their coffee and teas from organic and sustainable growers they trust and want to use the coffee house to build community and perpetuate social responsibility and accountability. My task as the brand designer was to visually convey the overall tone of the business through color scheme, typography, logo, icons, etc., and package it all into a brand style guide that would inform future design decisions.
Project Overview
Kahvi Blend hired me to create their entire brand identity. The brand style guide I delivered consisted of typography, color palette, logo design, icon design, imagery, and social media headers, creating a cohesive branding package.
Scope of project
Working directly with the owner of Kahvi Blend as the lead visual designer for the business, I ensured the brand's mission and personality were on point.
My Role
The owner of Kahvi Blend needed a design specialist to create the right mood and look for the business before launching. It was imperative to her that she makes the best impression on the community from the start.
We collaborated on the mission, audience profile, personality, and voice of the company that resonated with the community's needs. I then compiled all the information to make appropriate visual design choices representing Kahvi Blend's holistic brand. We allotted four months to complete all the aspects of the project, including printed materials, store signage, and online presence, with wiggle room for unexpected delays.
Problem & Goal
Design Process
My design process began with naming the company first. The owner had a name in mind but was open to other suggestions and decided to go with my recommendation of Kahvi Blend, which uses the owner's last name as a play on the words coffee blend.
I then moved on to the logo and used it as my jumping-off point for the rest of the design. I wanted to create a logo that had a nostalgic yet contemporary nod to a vintage mom-and-pop coffee shop where neighbors gather and feel part of a community. The steaming coffee cup and cozy cottage images symbolize a coffee house and lend a feeling of coming home to a safe space where everyone is welcome. I paired the graphic elements with a script typeface that puts a modern twist on old coffee shop signage.
Logo
The color palette of warm, earthy, neutral tones invokes images of coffee, lattes, and hot chocolate but also symbolizes the earth and Kahvi Blend's commitment to organic and sustainable practices.
Color
Continuing the friendly and happy vibe of Kahvi Blend, I chose the sans-serif typeface of Cronos Pro Light Caption with its subtle organic quality to pair well with the Lemongrass Script I used for the logo and main brand font.
Typography
Type-scale for: Kahvi Blend
60pt
36pt
18pt
16pt
I designed the icons I created for the menu and website in Adobe Illustrator. I made a simplified menu icon to show that Kahvi Blend has a variety of beverage offerings to choose from, and the muffin icon corresponds with the selection of baked goods they offer. Both icons use the two-tone colors of the brand and playful line quality, keeping with the warm and friendly personality of Kahvi Blend's identity.
Icons
I carried over that cozy and freshly homemade feeling of the brand into the social media header images for Kahvi Blend. The photos entice followers into the shop for wonderfully crafted beverages and tasty treats. All the headers feature the Kahvi Blend logo with an image of complimentary colors to the brand and its offerings.
Social Media Headers
Final Design
The guide encompassed all the visual brand elements including the company’s mission statement, personality, logo variations and usage guidelines, color palette in all formats (HEX, RGB and CMYK), font names and sizes, social media headers, and sample imagery.
Wrapping up the brand packaging for Kahvi Blend was the complete style brand guide, created using Adobe Illustrator and InDesign.
Brand Style Guide
By continually implementing the design choices from the brand style guide I created for the shop, Kahvi Blend can ensure that their brand identity will remain consistent and memorable within the physical and online community.
Click to view the Style Guide PDF or scroll down for images below.
Challenges & Take Aways
Crafting a design that encompassed the personality traits and mission of the company while keeping in line with the needs and wants of the community was the most compelling aspect of this project for me. I met with the owner to collaborate on creating a questionnaire for community leaders to fill out to give me a better understanding of what values they held most dear and how best to incorporate them into the design. We then met once every two weeks to discuss the various elements of the design and either approve them or implement changes to keep on track with the brand's identity.
This project allowed me to flex my empathy muscles and use critical thinking to analyze my design choices and make improvements where needed. It also engaged my technical and artistic skills using digital programs ( Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign) to create elements like resizable, lossless vector graphics or engaging social media banners, culminating in a cohesive branding identity for Kahvi Blend.
Finishing slightly ahead of schedule in our projected timeline, with a complete brand identity package including logo variations and social media headers, gave Kahvi Blend extra time to ramp up its social media presence, advertising its grand opening and all they have to offer the community. The style guide keeps all branding guidelines in one organized place. It will allow them to maintain a consistent look and feel across all promotional and marketing materials in the future.