Modern Coffee has established itself as an open and welcoming group of cafes with a steadfast adherence to professional standards of quality and service in the coffee community over their years of steady growth. It is loved and respected by its employees and the community it serves.
A rift existed between the visual identity and communication of the brand and those values of friendliness and professional know-how.
Kristen and Tina had the opportunity, and an eagerness, to create a cohesive look and feel to ensure that the brand more accurately represents its mission and values for years to come.
The new logo plays to the friendly and inclusive nature of the Modern community. It’s bright, flexible, & friendly while retaining a strong and professional edge, taking cues from classic Modernism and injecting some contemporary vibes.
The logotype is set in Futura which is a classic typeface that set a new standard for modern minimalist typography in the late 1920’s. It is strong and balanced but has a roundness that makes it friendly. Its use throughout design history makes it feel familiar to a wide audience.
Most people who know and love Modern Coffee refer to it simply as “Modern” and as such I decided to play with the idea of reducing the public facing name to Modern. This lends itself towards a more streamlined and simple aesthetic. It also could provide a nice device for future brand development i.e Modern – Clay Street, Modern – Coffee Roasters, Modern – Tea, Modern – Coffee Consultation, Modern – International training head quarters etc etc.
The colours of the logotype could be mixed and matched or it could be set in a seasonal colour scheme. It’s flexible and inclusive just like the folks behind Modern.
The shapes that make up the “coffee cup” logo mark are derived and extended from the latest mural and artwork we have been developing and could serve as logo as well as decorative abstract elements.
The top triangle, or the steam or flavor emanating from the cup, is the negative space of an M and the cup is a C on its back.
Minimal & fresh, playful and flexible, while being rooted in some solid design principles, typography, and ordered geometry, Kristen and Tina are stoked and are excited to apply the new identity across the board.
With the opening of the new Modern Coffee Berkeley bike station cafe Tina and Kristen were eager to decorate their side of the space in true Modern Coffee fashion. We explored a multitude of abstract geometric configurations arriving at this design. Evoking the intersections of streets, buildings, cars, bikes, pedestrians, and cultures & ideas that Berkeley is famous for. All within the Modern Coffee Colour spectrum.
Modern Coffee – Berkeley Mural
The aim was to produce something to give the white walls some vitality. Like Berkeley itself and the sensation coffee fills you with, we wanted to represent those energies visually.
I dove into research on the geometric abstraction masters from South America and found great inspiration from the wonderful works of Hélio Oiticica among a slew of others.
