Bean Buddies Branding Identity
Fall 2023
Client: Student Project
Challenge: To create a fictional restaurant brand and design everything ranging from the logo to the collateral.
Description: For this project, I wanted to design a delightful and memorable coffee shop by giving it cute and playful elements, thus making "Bean Buddies." The shop featured five charming bean characters, each brimming with its own distinct personality, adding a whimsical touch for customers to enjoy. The project involved extensive branding, exploration of product design, and collateral creation. Throughout the project, I faced challenges in avoiding repetition in mockups. However, this prompted me to consider how customers would interact with the collateral in person, leading to thoughtful design decisions aimed at enhancing the overall experience.
Visual Research
My first thought when making this coffee shop was to make it cute, friendly, and warm with little bean mascots to make it more memorable. My research consisted of looking at simple but fun Japanese and Korean cafes. I imagined this cafe to be somewhere downtown in a smaller city and targeted towards teens and young adults.
Initial Sketches & Conceptualization
I knew that I wanted the logo to be round and friendly in order to invite people in. I also knew that I wanted to incorporate the Bean Buddies in some aspect and decided to have one be the main mascot of the cafe.
Identity Package
This section includes the basic overall brand information. It has the various different logotypes, color palette, specific fonts, and the bios of each of the Bean Buddies.
Lockup
Wordmark
Logomark
Bean Profiles
Branding Style Guidelines
To make it more easily digestible, we had to make a style guide that explained the basic rules when using any of the branding material. It consists of aspects such as logotypes, color palettes, typography, collateral, and much more!
Guideline Highlights
Overall, this project was challenging but rewarding, allowing me to develop unique personalities for each Bean Buddy while creating a cohesive brand identity. I gained a better understanding of style guidelines and how they bring elements like typography, logotypes, and illustrations together to create a consistent and engaging brand.
