Brand New

Announced: Brand New will Shift to Subscription Model

Tue, 18 Aug 2020 04:15:21 -0600

“Starting August 24, 2020”

]]> After nearly 14 years of making Brand New free and open to everyone, the time has come to move into a paid subscription model. This was not a decision we took lightly and I will gladly expand on why we made it -- in detail. This is a long post but I have added too-long-didn't-read summaries at the end of each point. (The subscription cost and benefits are outlined at the end.)

VERY IMPORTANT NOTE TO RSS SUBSCRIBERS:
This is the last post you will receive in this specific URL. We have switched over to WordPress and, for now, have a new feed URL you can use... BUT, it will only be open until August 24 when we move into the new subscription model. If you do subscribe, instructions will be provided on how to access a new, unique feed to each subscriber.

The Why

1. Survival

This is the number one reason we are doing this. Simply put: if us and you want to see Brand New continue publishing -- and I would like to imagine that you do -- we have to be able to directly monetize the blog in order to justify the immense time commitment it requires.

Time spent on the blog is time that can not be spent on seeking/securing clients and producing client work which, at this moment, is the only industry-related skill we (UnderConsideration) can use to generate income (more on that in #5). I would say 50% of our available weekly hours are spent on producing the content of this blog -- including the podcast and the weekly newsletter. As most of you know, designing takes time and simply don't have the necessary hours available to do it right in the short- or medium-term.

tl;dr for Brand New to continue it needs to be self-sufficient.

2. Our primary source of monetization -- events -- may disappear

For the past ten years, when anyone has asked us about going into a subscription model, we have proudly said that it's not something we need, have, or want to do because the Brand New Conference has been a way of monetizing the blog since the audience for that conference lives here so the effort and time spent on the blog pays off in the form of conference attendance. In the past two years, this nice feeling of being able to keep Brand New free was enhanced by the introduction of First Round, which gave us another source of income. This was going so well that, as some of you know, our business plan for 2020 revolved around nine in-person events which are not happening anymore and, to be honest, for the first time in months we are questioning if they will happen at all... ever again.

We still have a sliver of hope -- because there is literally nothing we love to do more -- that we will be able to do our 2020 events in 2021 and that we will be able to get back on track with in-person events as our main source of income but, from the tone of this post, you might be able to gather that we are not fully optimistic of that.

This ties in heavily with reason number one: In the worst-case-scenario that we have to cancel the 2020 postponed events in 2021 we could literally be bankrupted. It may sound dramatic but it's the reality. We have non-refundable security deposits with 7 different venues, non-refundable room blocks with two hotels, and over 400 registrations sold and paid for that would need to be refunded. If those events are cancelled we are talking about approximately, and this is not an exaggeration, $250,000 -- and there is nothing in the pipeline to make up for it.

tl;dr without in-person events in the future, which is an increasing reality, our income drops to 10 - 15% and cancelling the 2021 events altogether could kill our business.

3. Online events

We have thought long and hard about this and there is no way we can match, let alone replicate the experience, quality, and/or value of our in-person events online. More importantly, there is no joy for us in doing it this way and without that joy the product itself suffers and we simply do not want to put a product out there that isn't up to our AND YOUR standards.

tl;dr this is simply not something we are interested in pursuing as the experience and quality of online events is simply... not great.

4. The Podcast

Introducing the podcast has been a great addition content-wise and we thought that if enough people subscribed it would be enough to monetize the blog in the interim. Subscription rates are about 15% of what we estimated. Perhaps we had ambitious goals. To be transparent: our goal was 2,000 subscribers and while we didn't expect to reach that goal immediately, the current 300+ subscriptions are a far cry from it. We are really enjoying doing the podcast so we don't want to abandon it but it's not the silver bullet that we thought could save 2020. Also, it takes a surprising amount of hours to put together each episode. We didn't expect it to be a walk in the park but we didn't realize how much time it would take, so, unwittingly, we have added yet more hours of workload that are not generating a matching return. In this new subscription model, everyone will have access to the podcast at no additional cost and we will move into a bi-weekly schedule.

(Current annual subscribers of the podcast who signed up at the $50 rate: your subscription will be honored in the form of three years in this new model. Current monthly subscribers will get the first month of Brand New free. Instructions to come by email this week or next.)

tl;dr takes a really long time to produce and has not yielded enough subscriptions -- it's great content so we will open its access and fold it into the subscription cost.

5. Client work

This is indeed our best option to match the income generated from the events BUT... deep breath... given our personal situation of UnderConsideration being two of us, who are married to each other, and have two kids (5th and 7th grades) who may not return to in-person learning at all this academic year it means that many, MANY hours of our day have to be devoted to them. As we explained in our state of the union post in May, Bryony has become the more full-time parent and me the more full-time employee, which means I have to do the blog, lead the podcast production, AND do most of the client work. This is not a cry for sympathy or a woe-is-me-for-my-white-collar-job-and-first-world-problems but it's simply not possible to do enough client work within the limited amount of time to generate the income needed -- and worse, the quality of work and of content we want is much lower because everything is being done in a rush. Even if me and Bryony split our responsibilities 50/50 something would have to give, and, unfortunately that something would have to be the blog and we are not ready, in any way, to give that up.

tl;dr not enough time and/or bandwidth to do it properly in addition to running the blog.

6. Advertising

This has been completely dead since at least 2015. We did a huge push in 2019 to get new advertisers and had zero results. The alternative is to run Google Ads but, at least to me, there is nothing worse on the internet than being sold to on every new website you visit the last thing you searched for 5 minutes ago and there is no way we are bringing that experience into Brand New.

tl;dr aside from Google ads -- which are irrelevant to our content and readers -- there is zero interest from relevant companies.

7. Donation-model

We considered this and there is the potential of that we would be amazed by your generosity but, at best, donations solve our problem this year and we are left wondering what happens the year after that and the year after that. At worst, we do not get enough donations and we need to keep asking you all to donate while adding hours of effort into doing those asks on a consistent basis. At this point, our goal is to build a consistent, long-term solution that not only keeps Brand New going but gives us the foundation to keep building on it.

tl;dr it's a short-term solution -- without a guarantee -- that requires constant attention.

– – –

So, those are the reasons and the alternative routes we could take to NOT have to shift into a subscription model. We hope you appreciate the thought and consideration that went into these rationales and that the decision was made with the sole interest of keeping Brand New going.

The How

1. Cost

$2 a month or $20 a year.

2. Access to...

The content of all individual posts on the blog beyond the before/after header image.
Polls and comments.
The Follow-up podcast.
The weekly newsletter.

To keep things simple, it's an all-or-nothing deal instead of itemized options.

When you think about the cost, keep in mind that for $2 a month, you are getting access to the 5 posts of each day (1 Reviewed, 1 Noted, 1 Linked, 2 Spotted), which means it's about 20 posts each week -- that is 1 cent per post. And that doesn't take into account the podcast or the newsletter. At $20 a year, each post is less than 0.01 dollars.

3. Future improvements

We have a number of ideas we are looking to implement on the blog and in the newsletter to give you even more value for your subscription and expand on the content. The plan is to implement them over the next 3 to 4 months as opposed to everything is new the day the subscription model starts.

To start with, we have finally ported over all the content from the previous Content Management System, MovableType, to WordPress, which is something we should have done in the last redesign in 2017 but, at the time, I didn't have enough experience in WordPress. This move gives us a lot of flexibility to access the 14 years of content in new and exciting ways.

With some working capital there is also the option of having contributing writers for those weeks where we take a vacation and everyone asks how come there are no contributing writers to fill in for me AND if you are paying for content, you should get content -- previously I didn't feel guilty for taking a break but now I would.

Free access

For anyone that can simply and honestly not afford* the subscription cost we will happily provide a free subscription. No questions asked. No reasons required. You tell us you can't afford it, we will honor your request. Please note, this is not a blanket invitation to students -- many of you can skip one Starbucks drink a month to afford two months of Brand New.

* "Afford" being key. "Not wanting to" is not a valid reason if you can afford it, whether you are a professional or student.

The When

August 24, 2020.

If you wanted to, you can begin your subscription now but otherwise, all content -- except for The Follow-up podcast -- will remain accessible for now. Next Monday you will be getting a prompt to subscribe to access the content.

The final word

We have kept the price low so that as many of you may decide to stay with Brand New in its new subscription model. Comparable to other creative industry web publications we are a fraction of the cost and that's on purpose -- not to undermine any of them but to make the barrier of entry as minimal as possible and in line with our event pricing, which is often half or a quarter of the cost of other design conferences in the U.S..

We hope that after 14 years of publishing Brand New you trust us with $20 or $24 out of your annual budget to bring you content that is of value to you and keep this blog going for at least another 14 years. Whether you've been reading for all those 14 years or just 14 months, 14 weeks, or 14 days, we thank you for having helped turn this weird, niche blog into something that we are so proud to produce for so many people around the world.

Your support now, in this new subscription model, would mean a lot not just to us but to everyone that reads Brand New.

Spotted: New Logo for Blue Islands

Fri, 14 Aug 2020 12:19:03 -0600

Visit Link

]]> About Spotted posts
No further images are included. No opinion is given. Not even a punny title. These are just… spotted. Best available link to learn more about the change (or the company) provided in the link above. Poll and comments are open.

Linked: Louis Vuitton Architecture

Fri, 14 Aug 2020 05:05:30 -0600

Visit Link

]]> Liège, Belgium-based Tarek Okbir imagines what would happen if you took Louis Vuitton's design elements and applied them to an opulent palace-like building. Oddly amazing.

Noted: New Name and Logo for St. Louis City SC

Fri, 14 Aug 2020 04:15:07 -0600

“Soccer and the City”

]]> (Est. 2019) "St. Louis City SC will begin play in MLS in 2023, joining Sacramento as the 29th and 30th teams in the league. The team will feature the only majority female-led ownership group in Major League Soccer, led by Carolyn Kindle Betz."

]]> Design by
“A diverse group of over 20 local designers”

]]> Related links
MLS press release

]]> Relevant quote
A diverse group of over 20 local designers created the crest based upon a common theme discovered through focus groups and discussions with various community members — a deep-rooted sense of unity and pride across the region in the St. Louis City flag. Using the flag as an inspiration, the team crest is an abstract depiction of the club’s passion and purpose, displayed through iconic elements found across the St. Louis region.

WORDMARK: Prominently leads with CITY as team name.

THE SOCCER CLUB/SOCCER CAPITAL: SC has double meaning, standing for both Soccer Club and Soccer Capital. It is our name, it is our history.

TOP OF SHIELD: Follows the shape of the Gateway Arch.

TWO RIVERS: Horizontal lines represent the two rivers that define our region: The Mississippi and The Missouri.

GATEWAY ARCH: The abstract representation of the iconic landmark is used to create movement and a connection to the rivers from the St. Louis City flag.

]]> Images (opinion after)

]]>

Logo.

Logo explanation.

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3D logo animation.

Family of logos.

Wordmark.

More wordmark.

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Animation of all logos.

Color palette.

Identity elements.

Merch.

Scarves on sculptures at the Missouri Botanical Garden.

Cars that paraded the city to announce the name and logo.

Logo introduction video.

]]> Opinion
The name is kind of interesting in that, eventually, I assume, the team will simply be known as “City”, as in “Hey, did you watch last night’s City game?” or “I’m going to a City game” and that is a pretty powerful statement. I’m also intrigued that they went with “SC” for Soccer Club instead of the usual “FC” for Football Club as I know it’s a thing where football fans get upset when it’s called soccer. For a United States-based team I think this makes much more sense. The new logo, at a glance, looks good but there is definitely a sense that “a diverse group of over 20 local designers”, as the press release states, had a hand in this and interestingly not one of them could explain what the angled lines under the Arch represent. Lite sarcasm aside, the logo does have the right elements in it, I mean, how could you NOT include the Gateway Arch? I’m not sure the execution of it is quite right… it loses heft at the top but not enough to look as if it was done on purpose and the river lines are just slightly thinner but not thinner enough to look much different. The abrupt cut in the crest to fit the name vertically is, well, abrupt. I mean, it’s not bad, and as I mentioned, it looks good at a glance but there are some questionable decisions here and there. The secondary mark that shows the full arch is interesting but, again, there is something not right about the minimalist interpretation of the arch — like the curvature and depth is off. The wordmark is nice and chunky. Things get a little trendy with the stroked-type approach but no doubt looks exciting when animated. Overall, I would say this is pretty good and it’s a very convincing look — just a little off on some aspects that most fans won’t be bothered by at all.

Reviewed: Friday Likes 339: From Studio MPLS, Wade and Leta, and Unifikat Design Studio

Fri, 14 Aug 2020 04:09:16 -0600

“From Studio MPLS, Wade and Leta, and Unifikat Design Studio”

]]> This week all projects come from repeat visitors, two of them from two weeks ago. I usually don't like to repeat designers within such a close timeframe but when the work -- from Minneapolis, Brooklyn, and Warsaw -- is this Friday-Like-ish, I can't argue with that.

]]> River Saint Joe by Studio MPLS

River Saint Joe is a brewery, farm-to-table restaurant, and event venue in Buchanan, MI, in an idyllic farmstead setting. Their identity, designed by Minneapolis, MN-based Studio MPLS, captures the richness of their offerings and surroundings with an equally idyllic typographic system that revolves around a lovely flared serif. A little on the hipster trend but absolutely perfectly done -- just look at that middle growler. A series of type badges and a lovely bird icon complete the identity that is non-stop beautifully produced and detailed. At first I thought the images above (and in the case study) were aspirational mock-ups but, nope, going through River Saint Joe's Instagram, a lot of those objects, are right there in real life. Would definitely love to visit, eat, drink, and be merry there. See full project

Kinglake Distillery by Wade and Leta

Kinglake Distillery is a family-run distillery in Kinglake, Victoria, Australia, that produces what sounds like a very tasty whisky whose key ingredient is water from a mountain stream rising on the distillery property, which is located in a rough landscape with rough weather, making the locals a hard-working bunch. The packaging, designed by Brooklyn, NY-based Wade and Leta, pays homage to the tools of these hard-working folk by creating a lettering that "references the hand-made labour of running a farm: the punch holes in machinery, the nailing of a post, and welding metal". While I'm not exactly convinced the typography conveys that, I am not going to argue with the fact that I heavily dig it. It's weird, it's clunky, and it's hard to read but it has a very unique and arresting personality that takes on a stranger vibe by being reproduced in gold foil. A secondary stencil serif adds to the oddity of the identity while a sans serif provides a needed balance of simplicity. To be honest, I'm not sure if I like-like this but I really enjoy staring at it. See full project

Lost Saints by Unifikat Design Studio

Lost Saints is a brand of handcrafted, vegan candles created by Los Angeles, CA-based Herminio Ochoa who, by day, works on film production at Netflix. The identity, designed by Warsaw, Poland-based Unifikat Design Studio, features a great wordmark with a flared sans serif -- akin to the last project of them we showed (which is a style I don't tire off easily) -- with a very wide "O" with a flame in it. If they had managed to center-align the "I" underneath with flame I would be doing cartwheels right now. Another nice, literal touch is the background used in the packaging which was created by rubbing dark, smeary ashes on their hands and then rubbing them on paper, yielding a moody vibe that goes very well with the name of the product. The touches of yellow in the presentation are worth mentioning as they match the flame of the candles. See full project

Spotted: New Logo and Identity for Vitkus Clinic by Tandemo

Thu, 13 Aug 2020 12:12:35 -0600

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Spotted: New Logo and Identity for Netgen by IDnaGroup

Thu, 13 Aug 2020 12:08:45 -0600

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Linked:

Thu, 13 Aug 2020 08:25:02 -0600

Visit Link

]]>

Noted: New Logo and Identity for Correos de México by Carl Forsell

Thu, 13 Aug 2020 05:47:34 -0600

“Pigeon Confidential”

]]> (Est. 1580) "Correos de México, in addition to fulfilling an elementary social function of keeping the entire Mexican society communicated, provides value-added services in the field of philately, messaging and parcels, which as a whole benefit both the general public and to entrepreneurs and businessmen of all lines and sizes. Our wide coverage that covers 98% of the Mexican Republic, as well as more than 27,000 service points, more than 2,800 land routes and more than 15,000 collaborators willing to provide quality services, place us as one of the most important distribution companies in Mexico."

]]> Design by
Carl Forsell (Cuernavaca, Mexico)

]]> Related links
Carl Forsell project page
2008 Brand New post

]]> Images (opinion after)

]]>

Logo.

Sketches.

Various renders.

]]> Opinion
I get a lot of pleasure when, 10 or more years later, I get to review something that has already been through a Before/After on Brand New. It’s even better when it’s from my home country, since we don’t cover that many big redesigns from Mexico. So… the old logo had a certain charm with the pigeon holding an envelope but that charm wasn’t nearly enough to make it a good logo, especially not with that terribly spaced wordmark. The new logo keeps the same two elements but integrates them into a single unit. The approach is rather clever — matching the angle of the envelope’s folds to the pigeon’s active wings — and the execution is almost there but, somehow, at the finish line, it’s missing something to take it from “okay” to “awesome” and I think it could have gotten to the latter. The sizing and placement of the wordmark is quite nice too, with the “O”s being nearly symmetrically placed and aligned with the angles of the envelope. Again, with some more finesse and tightening of the final lock-up, this could have been rather epic. The colors remain the same and while I love the Hot Mexican Pink — we call it Rosa Mexicano — I don’t think green (or, at least, this particular green) is its best complement and it could have been an opportunity to change things up and perhaps bring back the blue often association with postal service. The applications… they are all fine… I doubt we’ll ever see any of them applied in that way but there are some decent approaches in there that hopefully, at the very least, make it to Correo’s website because… sheesh, or, I mean, because… ay güey.

Reviewed:

Thu, 13 Aug 2020 04:42:17 -0600

“For the Foreseeable Future”

]]> Established in 2013, BERA (Brand Equity Relationship Assessment), headquartered in New York, NY, is a predictive intelligence brand-building platform. What that means, in yet more hard-to-understand words, is that the platform uses a "causation algorithm that has been tested on 4,000+ brands across 7 years, [allowing] you to know exactly what impacts your sales, sales profitability, or your sales-to-enterprise value ratio." I have poked around their website quite a bit and I'm still not sure what they do but I believe that, in a nutshell, you input your own brand's metrics across different categories and it will compare it to the 4,000 brands and 2.1 billion data inputs in its database to give you suggestions on what steps to take next -- all while updating and reacting in real time to evolving data. BERA also generates a "BERA Growth Score", which is a "data-driven cultural rank with the proven ability to forecast the growth and profitability of a brand" -- Instagram, for example, has a score of 70, while Kylie Jenner a 27. BERA recently introduced a new identity designed by London, UK-based How & How.

]]> Our solution was to transform the 'magic' of their platform into a solid reality. We used chaos theory to explain how seemingly random information (data) can have systematic patterns underpinning it. We developed an icon set based on circles, which could have complexity added or abstracted away. From these icons we developed the 'North Star' -- the brand marque which was etched into the logotype and used across company collateral as a visualisation of their process, as well as philosophy.

We used BW Gradual to create a customised wordmark, choosing the font for its pure shapes and fast curves which lent themselves to a 'Star' like effect.

How & How project page

Logo.

Your browser does not support the video tag.

Logo details (and stacked configuration).

The old logo was rather blunt and uninteresting even with its "A" pretending to be interesting by posing as an arrow. The new logo maintains the overall silhouette of the old one but builds in a couple of stars in the negative space between each pair of letters. The effect is instantly evident, which is a good thing, and it works the best between the "B" and the "E" as the star doesn't have to deal with the angles of the "R" and the "A". I feel like it was so close to being resolved very well but something in the end isn't quite right -- perhaps using a typeface with a more condensed and less angled structure like, say, Tungsten, would have allowed for better negative-spacing but since they are using BW Gradual for the logo and the identity in general, the stars was almost already pre-set in "BERA" and the extreme-notch element is easily extended across the identity.

Icon set.

Identity elements.

The identity gets more exciting as some abstract, geometric elements are introduced and as different ways of displaying the "North Star" are explored. Like the platform itself, everything in the design is a little ambiguous and I'm okay with that. In a way, I feel like the identity visualizes the idea of interpreting and parsing similar data points in different ways -- visually represented as circles cut in half, rotated, and stacked in different ways.

Visual language.

Website.

Instagram posts.

Out of home advertising.

From the moment BW Gradual was released, I was a fan, so I pretty much like every identity that uses it and I think it fits particularly well in this one, along with the circle/sharp-star motif. Message-wise, if I were to see any of the billboards above out in the world I would have no idea what they are advertising but even after reading their website over and over I still don't know what they do so, at the very least, what this identity does well is give a visual voice and draw you in, in a dynamic way, into this predictive branding platform that could provide more answers than the Oracle. (Not that Oracle, this Oracle).

Spotted: New Logo for Playtika

Wed, 12 Aug 2020 12:03:55 -0600

Visit Link

Spotted: New Logo and Identity for The 19th by Page 33 Studio

Wed, 12 Aug 2020 11:57:48 -0600

Visit Link

Linked: Objects may be Closer than they Ap-pear

Wed, 12 Aug 2020 08:20:17 -0600

Visit Link

]]> Apple has filed an opposition to the trademark application of Prepear, an app that lets users "Discover, Organize, Shop, and Cook" for meal recipes. Why? Because "Applicant's Mark consists of a minimalistic fruit design with a right-angled leaf, which readily calls to mind Apple's famous Apple Logo and creates a similar commercial impression."

Noted:

Wed, 12 Aug 2020 05:43:55 -0600

“No Strings Adapt”

]]> (Est. 2020) "The Zappos Adaptive mission is to provide functional and fashionable products to make life easier. Zappos Adaptive is an online shopping experience offering clothing and shoes from innovative brands with unique features that address a variety of needs. The first-of-its-kind digital offering allows customers of all abilities the opportunity to purchase a single shoe or shoes of different sizes."

]]> Design by
Eric&Todd (Columbus, OH)

]]> Related links
Eric&Todd project page

]]> Relevant quote
Before adaptive clothing was designed and produced commercially, the adaptive audience was modifying and building their own custom pieces. The sketch marks, used in the brand to highlight products and features, are meant to pay homage to the unique DIY culture.

Until a few years ago, adaptive clothing was designed and marketed solely based on function. Zappos Adaptive brings innovative products to market in an elevated, upbeat, fashion-editorial style, enhancing the browsing and shopping experience for those who previously relied on impersonal purchasing experiences or DIY items.

The adaptive color palette has been selected specifically so that all small text and background color combinations pass WCAG 2.0 level AA requirements. Background colors can be paired with certain text colors in the palette to ensure legibility while accent elements can use a more flexible color palette.

]]> Images (opinion after)

]]>

Logo.

Color palette that (mostly) passes WCAG 2.0 level AA requirements.

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Guidelines.

Icon set.

Your browser does not support the video tag.

Layout color selector.

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Visual language.

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Ads.

Instagram Stories.

]]> Opinion
This isn’t a typical redesign as it’s not selling a particular product, service, or organization but a collection of apparel from various brands presented under the Zappos brand so there are a handful of odd considerations to take in. For example: including the Zappos logo, making sure none of the other brands are obscured, creating a distinct look-and-feel within the existing-look-and-feel of Zappos, and, most challengingly, portray different-abled bodies on par with typical apparel models and I think this all succeeds in a very subtle, uplifting way. Starting with the logo, for example, and perhaps I may be reading too much into it but I really like how in the new logo, the Zappos logo adapts to the word “Adaptive” instead of simply tucking it underneath the Zappos logo as the old logo did. It’s not a great logo by any means but when you have to include the Zappos logo into another logo no logo will ever be great and this does it quite elegantly. There is not much to the visual language or identity, which is good as I think it lets the great photography stand out as it basically says all there is to say: No matter what your body is like, there is a great product for you here. The hand-drawn sketchy marks are a little shy… perhaps they could be pushed more but, again, I think not being TOO design-y is a good thing in this case. The icon set is pretty great, bringing to life concepts that we don’t often think about as needing icons. Overall, a very pleasant solution to a difficult challenge.

Reviewed: New Logo and Identity for Lot61 by Smörgåsbord

Wed, 12 Aug 2020 04:31:56 -0600

“Wait ’til you get a Lot of this one ”

]]> Established in 2013, Lot61 is a specialty coffee roaster based in Amsterdam, Netherlands, with one retail location and a booming wholesale business. Started by two friends and business partners who have known each other since their childhood growing up in Australia, later opening multiple coffee bars in New York, Lot61 was a big part of kickstarting the "third-wave coffee" scene in Amsterdam when the two set up shop seven years ago. Ethically sourced from farms that have been implementing environment and social responsibility, Lot61 is on a mission to be "the most circular specialty coffee brand to ever exist". In the meantime, they have introduced a new identity, designed by local firm Smörgåsbord.

]]> LOT61 had been going through somewhat of an 'identity crisis' adopting two or three brands in as many years. In business terms being too busy roasting and selling coffee to focus on future brand strategy and positioning is not such a bad thing but the owners deemed 2020 the time to align and elevate the brand. Our brief was to create a contemporary brand with longevity and a baked-in 'sense of place'.

It's no secret that the coffee sector is well served with thoughtfully designed brands so we set about making LOT61 stand out from the crowd. We started by doing an inventory of the world's leading coffee brands, placing them into one of four (aesthetic) categories: Minimal/Hipster; Traditional/Established; Source/Origin; and Mainstream. We sought to position LOT61 at the intersection of the first two categories which led us to look at the Amsterdam School of Architecture for inspiration.

Smörgåsbord project page

Samples of old identity.

The new logotype is informed by the Amsterdam School -- a style of architecture that arose in the city between 1910 and 1930. Whilst dialled up with some contemporary touches it retains its 'sense of place'. The hand drawn characters' 'thicks' and 'thins' are all 2:1.

Smörgåsbord project page

Logo.

Logo construction.

The old logo was so strange for a coffee shop and brand, looking far too corporate and the emphasis on the "X" made it feel very harsh. Nonetheless, to their credit, they had managed to cobble together a decent identity out of it. The new logo goes for the more compact "LOT61" spelling which leads to a very pleasing stick-circle-stick-circle-stick configuration that highlights the quirky 2-to-1 ratio of the thicks and thins in the letterforms. It's not a super easy read -- it can almost be interpreted as "Loto1" -- but once you know the name of the business it's all good. There are moments where the stark contrast of volume between each of the letters throws me off but, in the end, I really like the new logo, in part because it takes the geometric sans serif trend into a more exciting territory.

The Coffee Tasters Flavour Wheel was created using the sensory lexicon developed by World Coffee Research. The wheel is beautiful, like the greatest coffees can be, and is an intuitive tool for the coffee taster. It represents a comprehensive and kaleidoscopic picture of coffee flavour but has never been used as the basis for a coffee brand's colour palette -- until now.

Smörgåsbord project page

Color palette taken from the Coffee Tasters Flavour Wheel.

Flavor/number system.

Bag packaging system.

Many coffee roasters are currently opting for plasticised pouches that would look more at home stuffed with muesli. Our client was keen to use bags that he used to buy in grocery stores in NYC -- bags that felt substantial and 'brick like'. The 250g and 2.2kg bags feature the standard logotype whilst the 1kg features a playful, disrupted version.

Smörgåsbord project page

Packaging.

The old packaging was fine and serviceable but these new bags are pretty amazing. The color combinations are great and I love how different the small and big bags look. I would buy the 1-kilo bags for the jumbled logo alone even if it took me a decade to drink all that coffee... except that it wouldn't because coffee is life. The condensed typography on the front of the pack in small and on the side in huge certainly looks good but I wonder if that needed a little bit of weirdness too somehow or a way to tie in more with the logo. Still, I'm a fan.

Some hero shots.

Website on mobile.

Line drawings of coffee brewing methods.

Posters.

Logo pattern.

Cup.

Window dressing.

Tote bag.

Samples of new identity from their Instagram page.

From the image grid above you can see that Lot61 has really embraced their logo, putting it on everything possible, including their black espresso-making machine in the top-left corner. The "61" shorthand logo in a circle is a nice extension of the brand that has the potential of making the number itself, regardless of design, a high-recognition element for the small coffee roaster. Overall, I appreciate how this doesn't conform to any general coffee roaster trend -- a little on the minimalist side, perhaps -- and builds a bold visual language almost through the logo alone.