Cam Loves Design

Roots Cuban Coffee Company, a fictional company, was founded by a young Cuban woman who is passionate about classic Cuban coffee and culture. She dreamt of creating a modern yet traditional space in Berkeley, California that celebrates the global and local stories behind every cup as well as a food truck to use at events throughout the Bay Area.

The vibe of Roots should be friendly, welcoming and stylish with a Cuban flair. I created a logo, branding, patterns and illustrations that can be applied to stickers, coffee bags, menus and more to help launch the brand.

The logotype itself is a meaty, solid font that represents the homey, casual and strong culture of the founder’s home town, Havana. It is reliably itself. The edges of the letterforms are nicked and worn to express the timelessness of the buildings, the streets, the everlasting charm of the city. The R in Roots has a leg reaching down, similar to the roots of the coffee bean plant itself. The R leads to the remainder of the brand title making it one complete form. It adds balance to the presentation. The alternate logo features the hutia mascot drinking a cortadito stacked over the main logo. Called Desmarest’s Hutia, this two to three foot long rodent lives only in Cuba. It is a friendly co-habitant with the islanders and roams freely much like squirrels do in the United States. The hutia uniquely represents Cuba like no other animal can.

(This is a self-initiated concept project created to explore branding and design strategies in a niche I’m passionate about-coffee!)