Kona Coffee Roasters
My Role
Brand Design
UI / UX Design
Timeline
4 months
In 2017, Tae Kim founded Kona Coffee Roasters. Raised in O’ahu, Hawaii, he developed a passion for the food and beverage industry through his family's restaurant. Kona Coffee & Company aims to bring a piece of the Big Island to New York City, creating a space for New Yorkers to connect and relax over high-quality coffee.
Tae Kim, Photo by Grace Guarnieri
I opened my shop hoping to provide a space where New Yorkers can forget everything and just relax—because you need it. I wanted to give New Yorkers the taste of Hawaii to remind them that they can too, have the peace of mind—that it is okay to unplug.
– Tae Kim, Founder & Owner
02 Branding
Similar to pouring a perfect cup of coffee, the logo needed to have a balanced taste of Hawaii and NYC. By juxtaposing geometric lines and soft curves, a form is created that infuses imagery and feeling of both locations. The colors also meant to play into each environment come together to form a cohesive palette.
03 Web Design
The brand campaign also included a website refresh where the new colors, type styles, and logo began to be used in live production.
04 Brand Launch
Trying to accurately depict the balance of Hawaii and New York that Kona represents, we landed on something that makes use remember where it all started from – the farmers. Without the farmers that grew those first beans so that New Yorkers could enjoy a cup of coffee, this story wouldn't have gotten told. This new Kona logo is dedicated to supporting and uplifting the farmers in their part of the coffee story, through fair trade and direct sourcing.
05 Takeaways
Leading this project from conception to conclusion taught me how to advocate for myself and my work. Getting to communicate and own my ideas through the whole project cycle gave me a lot of confidence in my abilities and design process. Also given this brand was growing in popularity, it was important to design for scalability.