Elysian Coffee
Branding, Graphic Design, Packaging
Branding, Graphic Design, Packaging
CHALLENGE
There are few corners left in the urban environment that dont have a coffee shop, and very few are consistently good. In fact, even that great tasting cup could be produced with beans that victimized the people who grow, pick and sell them.
There are few corners left in the urban environment that dont have a coffee shop, and very few are consistently good. In fact, even that great tasting cup could be produced with beans that victimized the people who grow, pick and sell them.
Sourcing fairly traded, organic beans is one thing. Finding the best, the most flavourful and highest quality beans is quite another. You have to be part connoisseur and part Indiana Jones it seems. Then you have to get those beans here, roast them properly, grind them just so and then apply a combination of art, science and skill to capture all that in a cup.
Most people dont think about all the things that go into their daily caffeine fix. Our job, along with our friends at Octopus Strategies and the guys at Elysian Coffee, was to create an identity to start to change that.
APPROACH
Elysian has a reputation of making the connection between sourcing the right beans and making a damn fine cup of coffee. In fact, they elevate the experience to something more akin to what youd expect of fine wine. Oh yes, theres an exact and perfect way to make a cup of coffee at Elysian (and drink it). The new brand we were asked to create needed to express this to those already in the know, and engage and enlighten those who will soon discover.
Elysian is more than just a retail coffee shop. Owned by two guys who have carved out a niche for themselves as highly engaged, experienced, methodical and passionate consultants to the coffee trade, they were also the first to bring the Clover coffee machine to Canada. If you want to start a coffee business these are the guys you want showing you how. They like to explain that they are quietly disruptive, rocking the industry boat just so, but enough to make waves.
Elysian is a reference to the café in the movie Sweet Smell of Success, and to the Elysian fields which were the final resting place of the blessed chosen by the gods in Greek mythology. We set out to capture a combination of the historical meaning of the name with their newly enhanced brand characteristics. Our goal was a new, fresh identity that appeals to industry clients and retail customers alike. A tall order.
RESULTS
We initially set out to bring a stronger element of the roman and mythological connection from the name to the logo, but what we ultimately realized was that the unusual name itself achieved this. Thus freed from iconography and styles of the past, we created elegant, welcoming, approachable and precise typography to echo the clean, clear and pure taste of the coffees clients will experience.
With the logomark we sought to evoke a sense of lightness, the idea of layers (of flavour and dimension) and a precision that represents Elysians approach to making coffee. There are five colours that were selected for the brand ranging from dark brown to pale bronze. Two of these colours are used in the logo itself and all suggest the warmth and richness of coffee. Applied to store signage, coffee packaging, business cards and more, this brand has great appeal for a unique coffee experience: Clean, modern, fresh and humanistic, watch for more from this quietly disruptive brand.
