buzzbrew
2021
buzzbrew is a coffee company that specializes in bottled coffee lattes with 20% of profits supporting the rehabilitation and repopulation of bees across the United States. In addition to crafting coffee for a cause, buzzbrew focuses on curating a bold and balanced drinking experience through the combination of high-quality coffee, local ingredients, and botanical-inspired flavors. The result is adventure and loveliness in a cup with an open invitation to bask in the beauty of the brew.
Responsibilities
For this project, I fulfilled the roles of researcher, designer, and copywriter.
Goal
Name and develop the brand concept to build a bottled coffee latte series sold in high-end stores like Whole Foods and Central Market.
Challenge
Create a unique, appropriate, and compelling concept that stands out amongst the competition and veers away from the industry standard.
Target Audience
Young families and single individuals ages 30+, with significant disposable income. This group has an appreciation for the finer things in life. They enjoy trying out new gourmet products and wouldn’t hesitate to put something in their cart based on great packaging.
Competitive Analysis
Most coffee beverage brands with in-store products utilize a portable aluminum can with labels featuring sans serif fonts, neutral and primary colors, and a more masculine and craft-brew aesthetic.
Moodboard & Sketching
I focused on channeling an elegant, earth-toned, garden party aesthetic for buzzbrew’s branding because I felt it aligned best with its poetic qualities and offerings.
First Digital Drafts
After establishing the flavors and sketching out ideas, I digitized the concepts with the highest promise. For the time being, I developed the front label for the first flavor, lavender, and concentrated on creating a flexible system to support the multiple flavors within the product line. I knew I wanted to include a character or plant graphic that correlated either directly to the brand or the individual lattes, so I explored that in these initial rounds.
Second Digital Drafts
I received lots of positive feedback on the coffee bean bee graphic from the previous round and focused on strengthening and evolving that concept even further. Additional feedback included that the first digital draft options lacked contrast and variety color-wise, leading me to reevaluate my initial colors and explore a new and more refined palette.
Typography & Color Palette
To reflect the whimsical, floral, and herbal-focused branding, I chose Gastromond for the logo and display type. For the body, Nimbus Sans offered simple modernity in contrast to the embellished letterforms of Gastromond. For small accents, I used Fairwater Script, a lovely typeface with straightforward elegance and flow that mirrors the curved dotted path of the bee graphic.
For the color palette, I curated rich colors that could be found in nature, related directly to each flavor, and worked well with my base colors, Lily Lace and Honeybee.
Behind the Bottle
Initially, I chose an aluminum can as the product container for its portability. However, I soon decided that a can did not fully reflect the elegant luxury of consuming a buzzbrew latte. The drinks’ ingredients are intentional and beautiful, so why can’t the packaging be the same? After further research, I landed on a flask-like glass bottle that supported the label size and was thin enough on the sides to fit comfortably in hand. buzzbrew beverages are meant to be slowly savored and thoroughly enjoyed, justifying the slight decrease in portability. I also imagine that the bottle’s unique shape would perhaps inspire buyers to reuse and repurpose it for homemade beverages or a flower vase.
Final Solution
For final adjustments, wrapped up establishing buzzbrew’s brand elements, adjusted the hierarchy on the front label to allow the logo to pop, and reworked the back label’s layout to improve visual flow and cohesiveness between each working part. I also strengthened the connectivity between the front and back labels through the addition of decorative graphics.
Billboarding effect created when boxes are stacked.
Reflection
This project offered a unique challenge and opportunity by taking a beautiful nature-inspired concept and relating it to a tandem concept rooted in the coffee world. As a result, the final packaging solution is whimsical, botanical, elegant, and successfully appeals to the target audience. In addition, Buzzbrew veers away from the more masculine standard I encountered in my research and creates space for an open and lightly feminine selection.
My biggest takeaway was how vital competitive research is to understand industry trends and standards and move forward towards standing out from the crowd. I also realized how meaningful it is to work with brands with a cause.