A vintage-inspired coffee brand that rejects pretentiousness
Keith Klein
Owner Grace & Taylor
"After a number of failed rebrand attempts in the past it was time to try something new."
Grace and Taylor needed a brand that matched the quality of their product. One that stood out from the crowd and after a number of failed rebrand attempts in the past it was time to try something new. Matt and Keith approached me with a vision but needed help executing it, after a few calls we were able to get the brief locked in and start something wonderful together.
Challenge
The challenge for this project was taking Grace and Taylor's values and turning them into a visual system that felt recognisable, spoke to what they stood for, and avoided the pain points they'd run into before.
They wanted to steer clear of the pretentiousness that comes with specialty coffee. They wanted the brand to feel welcoming and community focused. Both clients loved a vintage inspired look, something they'd tried before but never quite landed. Other problems to solve were low visibility in the retail space and having to manually stamp and label every coffee bag, something they were keen to fix.
Solution
Bright, textured and welcoming. The new brand leaned on everything specialty coffee wasn't. More importantly it was cohesive and easy to use. With a small team including the owners, it was built with enough versatility that anyone could step in and use it.
The brand visually stands out from the predominantly monotone and minimal coffee space. Bright colours and vintage-inspired illustrations give it a unique look, and paired with a modern sans serif typeface, it blends modern and vintage without looking clichéd.
The new brand has a complete system to work from, a clear set of usage rules to keep it controlled, and the colour palette helps the product stand out on the retail shelf.
Result
The final result was rolled out in time for MICE 26 in Melbourne, where those who knew Grace & Taylor beforehand had only good things to say about it.
The new brand and business continue to go from strength to strength. I'm in regular contact with the client, so I keep hearing how well the brand is being received, and sales and online orders have increased significantly.