Brief from RichardsDee:
Develop a brand identity, visual language and social media campaign for the launch of a new Third Wave Coffee concept in Dublin called Society79 (or other name if desired).
The core audience are 18-30 year olds that will treat themselves to a takeaway coffee en route to work/college or enjoy a sit down coffee with friends at the weekend. They are seeking out experiences that are different and not uniformed like Café Sol, Starbucks, Costa or Nero.
While a focus on the culinary appreciation of coffee could attract an older age segment, a bold attitude might be more efficient in appealing to 18-30 year olds. In contrast with big coffee chains, a deliberately ‘uncorporate’ identity is proposed, combining both industrial and artisanal elements.
The proposed name Society79 can relate to a club or fellowship creating a sense of engagement, but might also trigger an association with 1979 that would not appeal to a young audience.
Instead RAFT has been chosen as a brand name: it is bold and memorable and it sounds like craft and rough, suiting the intended character for the brand. Fitting with the idea of a raw and unassuming aesthetic, the logo is simply made of the name RAFT set in a customised stencil typeface.
This mark can be combined with a number of ancillary elements, such as Dublin (to strengthen the local aspect) and a reference to 2014 during the initial stage (to emphasise newness and encourage customers to trial the brand).
A restrained visual language is proposed, avoiding the direct use of coffee imagery. The colour palette is based on dark brown and white, using red as an accent colour.
The store will display raw materials and surfaces, such as untreated wooden tables and concrete walls and floors.
The cups in-store will be unbranded, while takeaway paper cups will carry the logo.
The proposed packaging has a crude industrial aesthetic, contrasting with handwritten labels that emphasise the artisanal quality of the coffee.
For engaging potential customers, a campaign named art‘n’raft is proposed, where users would post Dublin-themed photographs or artwork over social media channels (twitter, instagram) using the hashtag #artnraft. A selection of these would be printed and displayed as murals in-store; thereby the customers themselves would contribute to the visual identity of the brand.
