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Revelator Coffee

CREATIVE DIRECTION | BRAND BUILDING | THE WHOLE SHABANG

Revelator Coffee Company originated in Birmingham, Alabama, aspiring to bring a third-wave coffee experience, akin to the West Coast and Asia, to the Southeast. It rapidly expanded to 15+ locations, gaining recognition for its meticulously designed interiors and premium worldly coffee blends.

Over the course of two years I lead the brands visual evolution as we attempted to blend the the beauty of the spaces a with the warmth of a human touch.

Case Study Purpose: An in-depth look at 2 years of brand building for the Southeast’s premium coffee brand.

Logo Refresh

Revelator's original logo concept embodied its name, "one who reveals," but faced hurdles in achieving balance and integration within the brand's design system. Resolving these challenges was crucial, given the logo's pivotal role as the foundational element for further development. You will see more of why soon.

Logo Design Modifications

In the logo redesign, we restructured the hierarchy to prioritize the eye without disrupting the text flow.  We introduced contrast by incorporating eyelashes against the eye's rays and ensured consistent spacing for improved visibility in signage and stitching applications.

LOGO USAGE

The primary logo with text was predominantly utilized for signage and out-of-home applications to maintain a serene atmosphere within the coffee shops, avoiding excessive brand noise.

The Eye

This was a crucial and memorable branding element primarily intended for in-store branding applications.

The Eye Stamp

To infuse customization and a personal touch, the brand stamped each cup with its distinctive eye logo. This enabled the brand to procure eco-friendly cups that didn't require printing.

Additional Eye Brand Usage

The eye was used for other interior branding elements such as packaging and employee uniforms.

Brand Colors - Primary

To complement our interior spaces and upcoming packaging, we opted for a warm off-white and black as the primary colors, accented with a hint of coffee tones. You’ll see more soon.

Secondary Colors

These colors were primarily used in our core packaging and web call to actions when we needed a little pop of color.

Tertiary Colors

We incorporated these colors into our coffee blend product line to complement the black and white scheme while introducing a vibrant array of colors that catch attention on store shelves.

Typography

I drew inspiration from old book covers and their interior pages to craft the typography, incorporating subtle references to literary tales.

Mrs. Eaves

The Quick Brown Fox  Jumps Over the Lazy Dog

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz | 0123456789

Headlines: A nod to vintage book cover typography choices

Archer

The Quick Brown Dog Jumps Over the Lazy Fox

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz | 0123456789

Secondary Typeface - Used as body copy and a nod to typewriter typefaces

GOTHAM BOLD

The Quick Brown Fox  Jumps Over the Lazy Dog

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz | 0123456789

Tertiary Typeface: Only used for small use packaging and store signage for legibility sake

Core Blend Packaging

Revelator consistently stocked three primary coffee blends, drawing inspiration for their names from two renowned women writers and one of the company's co-founders.

Emma C - “Petunias” (Just a nick name)Katherine Anne Porter - “Pale Horse, Pale Rider ”Flannery O'Connor - “A Good Man is Hard to Find” character the misfit.

Core Blend Packaging Design

Adhering to the company's eco-friendly commitment, Revelator opted for unprinted bags. This presented  the challenge of creating a design that remained  subtle yet distinctive across more than 15 coffee  options simultaneously.

The solution involved crafting a distinct illustrated border within a .25-inch space, granting each bag its individual character while maintaining consistency in element placement. Inspired again by the idea of older books, the idea centered on intricately detailed organic illustrative borders.

Notice the petunias nod from the image. =)

Single Origin Packaging Label Design

Apart from the 3 core blends, Revelator would feature up to 10 single-origin coffees concurrently. Adhering to the ornate border design, I developed patterns in a 5x5 grid, allowing interchangeable use as new offerings rotated in and out while maintaining distinct individual designs.

Unlike the core blends, these single-origin designs were geometric rather than story-driven, establishing a fluid design system for the changing offerings.

Again, this all had to be done within .25 inch.

Pattern Design Implementation

Each of the offerings received its own unique pattern and used the tertiary color palates.

Additional Limited Package Design

Limited-time coffee runs featured distinctly unique custom blends crafted with an emphasis on "organic geometry," setting them apart from the other offerings.

“9 to 5” Package

This was the blend for our wholesale office. Again, paying tribute to another famous woman, Dolly Parton. (Notice the rein-stone design)

Full Packaging Set

Here we see the full spectrum of colors in use which provided a nice contrast to the brands spaces. Also a nod to the companies dedication to diversity and inclusivity. ;)

White Labeling Packaging

Occasionally, we created designs for white-label products. Here's one of them.

CoffeeMilk

Logo mark and packaging for coffee flavored milk product.

Illustration Style

To inject more humanity into the brand, I chose hand-drawn black and white illustrations to enhance the brand's image without appearing overly cliché. This artistic style was applied across all elements, from icons to advertisements.

This approach empowered Revelator's staff, many of whom were talented artists, to create local advertisements effortlessly and swiftly, infusing a sense of fun into the process.

Sometimes they did things in color too... That was ok.

Education Manue

l80+ Page book educating staff how to operate filled with custom illustrations and photography. Link below.

(DOWNLOAD FULL VERSION)

Menu Design.

This mark became a critical memorable branding element for cups, stickers, hats and other collateral.

Location Personalization Examples

Each location received custom illustrated stamps to give their cups, menus and other collateral.

Photography and Social Media Direction

Revelator encompassed more than just stunning spaces and delightful coffee. Through our imagery, we aimed to emphasize community, love, and, of course, our products and locations.

Brand book

80+ page book built on defing the revelator brand’s standards

(DOWNLOAD FULL VERSION)

New Website design

MENU BOARD DESIGN

Revelator aimed to avoid digital menu boards but sought a solution that offered high flexibility while adhering to the brand's aesthetics and typography.