Every touchpoint of the cafe is the brand. Its primary color of bright Rosa Mexicano frames the exterior signage and accents the interior with a Baraganesque wall. In the packaging for the cookies and pastries the brand is carried on beyond the premises. The classic blue talavera motif lives on in the porcelain coffee cups, the glacé of cookies, as well as in the paper to-go cups that the customer drives away with.

Sami Hayek brought Rebeca Méndez Studio in to help Latino Brands Inc. position and brand a new concept for a Mexican-American coffee and pastry bar that combines the tradition of the classical gran café culture, the warmth and wealth of abuelita’s (grandmother’s) kitchen, with the smartest design, talent and technology can provide.

Along with Gabriela Arvizu, the company’s director, we named it Compañía de Café and envisioned to develop a spot where “family and friends gather for a warm drink, a sweet bite and a good time, at a free moment shared together. The space invites and engages, nurtures and embraces, flirts, seduces and indulges you. This reciprocal spirit of confianza — of respect and trust in our shared humanity — we celebrate at Compañía de Café.”

Rebeca Méndez Studio designed the visual identity, wrote the copy, created the signature mural with custom tiles, and made the website. UCLA DMA interns involved were Omar Lopez, Canon Call, Amanda Fung, Mindy Seu, and Mika Tohmon. Website developed by Cliff Simmons. Icon illustrations by Daniel Gonzalez.