Interview

Mood board

Logo

Typography

Color

Assets

audit

inspo

logo

typography

Color

Final

EDNA (now Juju) approached me to build a brand for their coffee pop-up.

They were looking for a new and cohesive visual identity. I evaluated their brand positioning and created brand methodologies for future use.

Ellie Paik

brand designer @ usc

Playground

explorations

Overview

Juju Coffee

Juju Coffee is a coffee pop-up that exists to simply serve good coffee and brighten days. I created a full brand system for them to use across various mediums such as social media, marketing, packaging, and more.

When Juju Coffee’s founder, Faith Wang, first approached me, the pop-up already had angel-investors and a standing relationship with AI LA. She was quickly being booked and needed an visual persona to identify with.

STEp #1

Interview + Audit

To accurately develop a visual brand system for Edna the first thing I did was interview Faith, EDNA’s founder. We chatted over her vision for EDNA’s future, EDNA’s origin story, and components she hoped to have for her brand.

AUDIT

What does EDNA look like currently?

To prep for the interview I conducted an initial audit of the current brand components. EDNA wanted to revamp their logo and felt the current one was too casual and simple. They also wanted to clarify their color scheme as they were using a disjointed palette.

AUDIT

What does EDNA look like currently?

To prep for the interview I conducted an initial audit of the current brand components. EDNA wanted to revamp their logo and felt the current one was too casual and simple. They also wanted to clarify their color scheme as they were using a disjointed palette.

INTERVIEW

Who is EDNA and where does she want to be?

I filtered the interview into a few findings

  • EDNA was perhaps not the right name for the brand anymore

  • The founder has a strong attachment to the brand and should reflect her persona

  • Because EDNA is a pop-up there are different brand assets and considerations such as an ever-changing customer base, and revolving locations

I filtered the interview into a few findings

  • EDNA was perhaps not the right name for the brand anymore

  • The founder has a strong attachment to the brand and should reflect her persona.

  • Because EDNA is a pop-up there are different brand assets and considerations such as an ever-changing customer base, and revolving locations

post interview research

Competitor analysis

I studied different competitors in the space to gain insights on their origin stories and how they established themselves as successful in the coffee space.

EDNA was in an interesting space because it is not brick and mortar so the branding takes on a different life. I also researched the pros and cons of pop-up coffee culture.

I filtered the interview into a few findings

  • EDNA was perhaps not the right name for the brand anymore

  • The founder has a strong attachment to the brand and should reflect her persona.

  • Because EDNA is a pop-up there are different brand assets and considerations such as an ever-changing customer base, and revolving locations

After interviewing EDNA’s founder I filtered my findings into a few North Stars to follow throughout the project

Friendship, community, and people are at the center

Friendship, community, and people are at the center

Friendship, community, and people are at the center

Core characteristics of EDNA are peace, contentment, and happiness

Core characteristics of EDNA are peace, contentment, and happiness

Core characteristics of EDNA are peace, contentment, and happiness

EDNA meets people where they’re at. It is humble and aims to brighten days in small ways.

EDNA meets people where they’re at. It is humble and aims to brighten days in small ways.

EDNA meets people where they’re at. It is humble and aims to brighten days in small ways.

STEp #2

Mood Board-ing

After establishing a clear vision and verbal identity for EDNA I moved on to visual identity. I pitched 3 different directions for Faith to pick from based off her interview responses and current branding.

Direction #1

Cool + Modern

Feel: Cool, modern, fun and punchy

This direction is a lot more modern than
the other directions, probably will play with a script
font and a sans serif font

The illustrations can be more abstract and playful

Direction #1

Cool + Modern

Feel: Cool, modern, fun and punchy

This direction is a lot more modern than
the other directions, probably will play with a script
font and a sans serif font

The illustrations can be more abstract and playful

direction #2

Warm + Cozy

Feel: Warm, cozy, neutral, earthy, natural, content

This direction is more natural and earthy. Can have more organic illustrations, sans serifs and serif fonts. Colors lean towards: off white, dark green, maybe a punch of yellow and lavender.

Is less playful and more calming.

direction #3

Playful

Feel: Playful, abstract, giving Swedish girl who wears
a scarf around her head and carries a baguette in a tote bag, whimsy, dreamy

This direction is a bright, fun, and utilizes a larger color scheme. Pops of color draw the eye in. Is more child-like and whimsical. Can be paired nicely with strong geometric illustrations and natural textures. Colors can be mainly primary and secondary (red, yellow, blue, purple, green, pink). Maybe a script or sans serif font

Overall more lively, bright, and young

The second direction was the winner! Faith resonated with the warm tones, easy graphics, and understated yet timeless direction

The second direction was the winner! Faith resonated with the warm tones, easy graphics, and understated yet timeless direction

STEp #4

Typography

Typography is important because it tends to be the most visible and repetitive visual throughout assets. I wanted the typography to encapsulate Juju’s personality

Analysis

Font Families

To allow for easy access I chose open source fonts.

I picked Familjen Grotesk for the header copy. Its  large notches, known as “ink traps”, add style to headlines and clarity to captions. It also creates a more casual and less modern feel to a sans serif font.

For the sub-header and body copy I chose IBM Plex Mono which allows for extreme clarity in reading due to the same width of each letter which is characteristic of mono fonts. It also gives a more technical and timeless feel while not becoming too modern or sterile.

Analysis

Font Families

To allow for easy access I chose open source fonts.

I picked Familjen Grotesk for the header copy. Its  large notches, known as “ink traps”, add style to headlines and clarity to captions. It also creates a more casual and less modern feel to a sans serif font.

For the sub-header and body copy I chose IBM Plex Mono which allows for extreme clarity in reading due to the same width of each letter which is characteristic of mono fonts. It also gives a more technical and timeless feel while not becoming too modern or sterile.

Analysis

Analysis

Hierarchy

I established a clear guide for sizing and font-weight distribution in terms of hierarchy.

From Header 1 to Header 2 there is a 25% decrease in pixel size, from Header 2 to Sub-Header 1 there is a 50% decrease in pixel size, from Sub-Header 1 to Sub-Header 2 there is a 20% decrease in pixel size, and from Sub-Header 2 to Body there is a 0% decrease in pixel size.

STEp #5

Color

We finalized the brand book with color. I went back to the initial mood board and developed a color scheme to match the rest of the brand.

Analysis

Primary and secondary palettes

I chose two foundational colors: forest green (#295239), and cream (#FFFCF6) from which to build off. These contrasting colors allow for visible type and strong readability.

I then developed a secondary scheme to support the primary. This scheme is tonally in the same range and allows for depth and dynamic play in the brand. However, this scheme should be used sparingly.

Analysis

Primary and secondary palettes

I chose two foundational colors: forest green (#295239), and cream (#FFFCF6) from which to build off. These contrasting colors allow for visible type and strong readability.

I then developed a secondary scheme to support the primary. This scheme is tonally in the same range and allows for depth and dynamic play in the brand. However, this scheme should be used sparingly.

Asset creation

Portfolio View

With these final guidelines we put various assets together for Juju to use as well as visualize the whole picture.