PROJECT
Rare Breed Coffee Branding and
Coffee Package Design
SERVICES
BRAND STRATEGY & STORYTELLING
COFFEE LOGO DESIGN
COFFEE PACKAGE DESIGN, COFFEE TIN DESIGN
APPAREL & MERCH DESIGN
COFFEE WEBSITE DESIGN
SOCIAL MEDIA LAUNCH CAMPAIGN
COFFEE PHOTOGRAPHY & VIDEO CONTENT
SELL SHEET, POS & COLLATERAL DESIGN
ROASTERY AND CAFE SIGNAGE DESIGN
BRAND NAMING & PRODUCT NAMING
The Challenge:
Coffee culture has become so enamored with itself that it forgot coffee is to be enjoyed. The owners of what was A&E Coffee challenged us to throw out the typical coffee industry pretension in favor of just having fun—and maybe raising a few eyebrows along the way. After all, this is coffee, not heart surgery, right?
Execution:
The world keeps serving up bullshit and this coffee brand was developed to be the antidote. Creature Theory dug deep into ideas, art, music and movements that pulled at people’s heartstrings and left them feeling alive. Our instincts told us that if we built a brand universe that was rebellious yet fun, and endearing yet unconventional, we could bring a certain character and point of view to the coffee space that would resonate with a whole new audience.
The new brand name became Rare Breed. A ruthless quest for flavor is the mission, and living life to its fullest the muse. The Rare Breed brand was developed to have an elusive combo of tenacious audacity and deftness. A brand for the brave, thoughtful and imaginative. Coffee for the people with the guts to follow their hearts rather than jump on a bandwagon.
BRAND IDENTITY THAT BREAKS THROUGH
When pretension is the antagonist, utilitarian is the antidote. The Rare Breed logo system was created with an old school label maker. Black and white—and perfectly simple—allowing our design team to layer vibrant colors and artwork around the logo without losing separation.
The embossing tape medium is no frills, but due to a touch of popularity with punk artists and musicians, it also communicates independence and nonconformity.
PACKAGING THAT TURNS HEADS
The client challenged us to ignore the status quo (boring coffee bags) and find package format options that would be interesting, protect the coffee, and retail well. The final solution was a fresh take on a classic: tin cans. While cans aren’t new to coffee, they are seldom used for premium third wave coffee—yet cans are infinitely recyclable, protect the coffee from light and oxygen, and can be fitted with one-way valves to allow for natural off gassing.
Each and every coffee has been given a name that communicates its character—and custom artwork to help express its originality. The label illustrations range from punk-pop to surrealism and are united by their fun-natured nonconformity. We leveraged our expertise with wine and spirits labeling to implement a few special finishes including having all the label tape elements be embossed so that you can feel the pressed white letters
Would you like to learn more about developing the Rare Breed Coffee brand? Curious about how we approach branding, storytelling and package design? Don’t be a stranger, kick and email our way!
