For this project, we were tasked with conceiving a ready-to-drink line of coffee beverages for a company that didn't have one already. After doing some market research, I landed on local roasters Herkimer Coffee. They have a few different locations here in Seattle. While they did not have a RTD line, I noticed they did cold brew in the summer. So it seemed like they were halfway there. When I was looking through their website to determine specific brand traits and characteristics, it was evident they took great pride in the partnerships they've built with the farmers they source their beans from. Aside from their few bagged blends they had available online, they had a line of single origin beans highlighting each of their partners. I wanted to do the same for my take on a RTD line of coffee drinks for Herkimer.
We came up with a few different moodboards for group feedback to help us narrow down our direction. The one I settled had a retro modern vibe. Classic, mid-20th century design that felt akin to those that would inspire Warhol. For this assignment, we had free rain of the design. However, we had to use the current logo to stay connected to the branding. The logo for Herkimer Coffee is cut on a bias, creating a diagonal line at its base. This inspired the the banded image that graces the middle of the design. Each variety features a scene of the farmers who produced the beans with a profile of their operation and their coffee.
This is a project that went through numerous iterations before deciding on the final design. It took me a little bit to find the proper inspiration. Once I did, things started to fall into place quickly. I devised two separate designs for a line of cans as well as bottles. In the end, I presented the cans because it was my initial choice. The bottles turned out nice also. Both designs felt very satisfying to me. I'll leave you with an image of the bottle design and you can decide for yourself which is better. Because I still can't.
