huddersfield rebrand research document
audience
moodboard & photographs
For the moodboard focussing on audience we focussed on a younger age group (17-35) as this was what we felt was a good representation of the customers that we see when we go to Coffeevolution. We focussed on beardy-types and cool looking couples as this was the way in which we felt we could describe the customers.
We took disposable cameras around Huddersfield and took pictures of our target audience. We focussed a bit on students and the younger generation. I feel that it’s important to consider audience when rebranding because you want to appeal to the existing customers, and possibly try to appeal to a few new ones too.
l o c at i o n
moodboard & photographs
For the location we went chose to look at typical Northern landscapes and close up images of Yorkshire and Huddersfield. We also decided to include a few stereotypical Yorkshire things in this mood board such as flat caps, whippets and tea, as this might appeal to the humourous vibe that is in Coffeevolution. With the location disposable camera we took pictures around Huddersfield of what we felt were iconic places, such as the train station, markets and the view from the University that overlooks most of Huddersfield.
coffee
moodboard & photographs
The coffee moodboard was made with both coffee shops and coffee branding in mind. We included a range of images to inspire us that used really effective branding and had a really clean style. The coffee shops images were also useful to get a sense of style within other shops and a feel for the atmosphere of most coffee shops. The pictures we took with the coffee disposable cameras were to try and get a feel for all coffee shops in Huddersfield, as there are a lot of them, and see what they are like in comparison to our chosen shop of Coffeevolution.
imagery photographs & feel
As an extra moodboard we decided to take some pictures and source images off the internet for Coffeevolution so that we could really see how it is represented inside and how they have chose to represent themselves online. I feel that this gave a real look into how the business runs and how they want the atmosphere of their coffee shop to feel. After creating this mood board I went and took some pictures to use a reference for what Coffeevolution is like now, due to its ever changing settings inside. It was nice to get some pictures when it was empty because it allows you to see what they have created.
opinions questionnaires & reviews
In our group we created a questionaire to give to the staff members at Coffeevolution to see if they would like anything in particular changing, and if they felt anything would make the design of the brand any better. I felt that the feedback from the questionaires was very positive towards a rebrand. They also said they were keen on the red colour and wanted to consider the consumer. We also looked at reviews that customers had written online. It was good to see the humour of both the customers and the staff, and it’s great to be heading into a rebrand where a business’ attitude is so good.
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coffeevolution
c o f f e e vo lu t i o n
coffeevolution
coffeevolution
coffeevolution coffeevolution
fonts
font selection & variation
One of the first things that I began to look at was font selection. For the idea I had I wanted a simple font that could appeal to a wide audience, and something that stands out well in a number of colours. The font that I have chosen for the main titles on my branding is Ostrich Sans Inline, and for the secondary font that I will use on things like body copy will be Helvetica Neue (Thin). For my main titles I have also decided to track it by 300. I like this font choice, because I felt that it would be strong for a logo that would be simple but very effective.
colour
colour palette & selection
After talking to the staff at Coffeevolution it made sense to me to keep the deep red colour that they like in the colour palette. They also mentioned that they were beginning to introduce grey into this too. I created some possible palettes from these suggestions, and decided to go with only three colours for each as I wanted to take a fairly modernist approach to the rebrand and not use too many colours, and try to keep it simple. I chose the palette at the top left, as I felt that the very subtle grey would be a nice background colour and the deep red and black would look good on text or imagery that I created.
textures possible influences
Another element I decided to look at was texture. In Coffeevolution there are a surprising amount of textures and good imagery, from the pale wooden floors to the Chesterfield chairs. I also thought this was a good idea because it might give me inspiration for logo designs.
I thought that the coffee bean looked good as a texture, and making it look abstract would be a familiar yet unique element that could be added to my logo. I also thought I could replace some of the “O”’s in the name of the shop with little coffee beans as a nice touch,
logo
ideas & development
When designing my logo I kept in mind that I wanted something simple and effective, that could be translated into the three colours that I had chosen for my colour palette and still look as good as ever. I drew up a range of ideas on paper, then began to develop some in Illustrator and InDesign. I quite liked the idea of the cup from above, but took into consideration that the building that Coffeevolution is in only really has space for a long thin logo, which is good for just text. I decided to go with the logo to the right, I feel that it’s simple but very readable and has a quirk through the coffee bean in the first “O”.
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evolutionbasics
Bar food
e v o l u t i o n c r e at i o n s
icons
creating icons to be used When I was starting to create the visual language that I wanted to use on this rebrand I went down a route of creating icons like this. I thought that when it came to packaging and my menu that these would be a good illustrative indicator of each section or what would be contained in the packaging. I created different icons for each section of the menu, such as EvolutionBasics and IcedEvolutions, and then also created icons for things like tea bags and sugar sachets that I thought would be nice to make. I was pleased with this style, as it’s different to all my previous work and I think it really stands out.
menu menu design
Using the icons and logo that I had previously created I made my menu. I wanted to use the icons at the top if each column to indicate what would be written beneath. I also used the coffee bean icon to indicate a double or single coffee on the EvolutionBasics section. I wanted the menu to be clear and easy to read, yet striking. I feel that I have really accomplished this because each of the titles stands out and it’s very easy to make sense of, and the illustrations add an extra touch of flourish, which I really like. I also made a pattern with the icons to go on the front of the menu, which I made a deep red to contrast well.
bagel
Pa n i n i
salad
bar food
soup
pac k ag i n g bag and tag designs
For the packaging I decided to keep it simple and use brown paper bags or boxes. To make them unique to Coffeevolution I decided to make tags that could be tied to the boxes or bags with red and white string to differentiate each product. For the design I used the simple icons that I have used on the menu design. I used a subtle pattern on the background that shows all the different food items, as I feel that this is a nice way to link each tag.
cups
take away cup design
For the take away cups I decided to use the simple drinks pattern in red, as I feel that this is the bolder colour (rather than the subtle grey). On the bottom of the cups the Coffeevolution logo is present, on top of the grey background.
TEA
c ffeevolution
misc.
tea bags, sugars
I thought that it would be a good idea to package some of the items that you find in packets at the till or when you want to add to your drink. I decided to make tea bag packets and sugar packets, as they are something that every coffee shop needs.
brown
sugar
I was really pleased with how cute the packets looked, yet how clear they are and how well they fit in with the rest of my branding.
White
coffeevolution
sugar
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s tat i o n e r y
business card & letter
I decided to create some business cards and letterheads for the staff at Coffeevolution to use. Where I work we have notepads with the logo of the company on that we use to write on. We also have business cards that we use to give to customers who may need to contact us. I thought it made sense to create the same for Coffeevolution.
conclusion During this brief I feel that I have really developed my skills and enhanced my design ability. For the brief I chose to design a very simplistic and modern brand for Coffeevolution. I used only four colours and two fonts to create my brand, and set a very simplistic set of icons to use so that the brand would match across each product. I feel that I met the themes of the coffee shop and created a very cohesive brand, along with strong and easy to follow brand guidelines.
modernist style and I wanted to concentrate on making very simple graphics that were effective and done well. The reason I only chose to use four colours was because the current brand focussed on a dark red already, so this acted as a thread between the two brand identities. I chose to use white, grey and black with the red so that it wouldn’t take focus away from the key colour, and I feel this works really well.
To improve this project I would like to experiment with the use of the brand on other aspects, such as website design or signs for the outside of the shop. I think this would really bring the brand to life and allow me to see how it would look if they ever decided to use it.
Overall, I really enjoyed this brief, probably more than any other brief that I have done whilst at University. I feel that my strengths are in branding, which has allowed What I like most about this project is how simple yet me to really embrace this brief and push myself. The reason that I chose to use such a simple style effective the brand is. I feel that I captured an essence for this rebrand project is because I wanted the brand of the shop through my brand, whilst giving the brand to be clear and clean. I feel that I work best in a very of the shop a well needed refresh.
guidelines
Helen Bowers