Product branding from the ground up, including packaging design and e-commerce storefront design in Shopify.
Problem
Create a complete brand identity for a coffee roasting company.
Hypothesis
By developing a story based around the surf, skate, and music culture of the Beach Cities, we can create a unique brand that speaks to the founder's community and values.
Solution
A brand identity that reflects the commmunity from which the founder is from and which they plan to serve, as well as an e-commerce site that brings the company's story and products to those that want a taste of the South Bay.
Design
When I was approached to design the brand identity for Mongo, they already had a logo they were happy with and a starting point for the product packaging of their Light, Medium, and Dark roasts.
starting point: logo and product packaging labels
The original color scheme and font choices could improve in terms of clarity and accessibility. I began iterating on label options starting with a unique hand symbol to help identify and distinguish each roast: 'Rock on' for Light Roast, 'Peace' for Medium Roast, an 'Hang loose' for Dark Roast. We also settled on a color palette that was more fun, warm, and inviting.
Light, Medium, and Dark roast symbols
From there, I began choosing some different type options and mocking up label iterations.
Label Iterations
first iteration of light roast labels to decide typography
Once typography was decided on by stakeholders, I began iterating on how/where to present all the information needed on the product label.
second iteration of light roast label with color scheme and typography applied
Third iterations of the light, medium, and dark roast labels
At this point, company leadership was happy with the product design and we decided to print and test a batch of product labels on consumers and investors. During a pop-up to promote the new business, we recieved some feedback regarding the information hierarchy and color blocking and decided to do one final iteration based on our findings. These are the final iterations of the Light, Medium, and Dark roast coffee labels:
Mongo Coffee Roasting Co. Website
Once we settled on the labels, Mongo asked me to design their online store on shopify. Although this was my first time building a shopify site and I was limited on how much I could customize using the shopify platform, we ended up with a simple yet stylish and effective e-commerce site.
Once I jumped into shopify, I realized that their framework for designing sites and layouts was a bit more limited than what I was used to. We decided to push on with shopify's platform because of their established and easy to use -e-commerce functions. Ultimately, once we added branded content, photographs, and colors to reflect the established branding and merchandise, the site came together simply and beautifully. Take a look for yourself and order a bag at mongocoffee.com:
