Luxury Coffee Brand: Initial Ideas

Upon reflection of my initial designs I've looked into existing coffee labels in order to identify the relevant information needed. This lead to alteration to my initial ideas as the resulting in more points being added to the elevation line in order for the information to fit within the label. Consequently leading to taller label being created which I think is more effective than the initial designs. Furthermore I've looked at the topography and contour lines of the Sierra Madre region of Guatemala. This lead to experimenting with different ways to incorporate contour lines within my designs (see figures 1). Initially I had planned to incorporate the contour line across the whole label however  it was difficult to balance the lines and text so that the information on the label could be read easily (see figure 2-3) and when the opacity is lowered enough for the text to be read the lines lack impact. In addition I experimented with editing the individual lines within the set based on elevation inspired by the colours used within a contour map, resulting in higher the elevation the thicker the line. However I was still unhappy with the placement of these experimentations (see figure 4). Consequently this lead to the use of the lines as a small logo featured at the top of the label (see figure 5) which many of my peers liked when gaining peer-to-peer feedback. However I personally felt the placement of the lines was a little awkward and needed further work.

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Figure 5

Due to my frustration with the use of the contour lines I decided to experiment with the use of colour within the label based on the change in colour of the coffee beans throughout there productions process (see figures 6-10). When experimenting with colour it was difficult to find the right colours that complemented the design without being too dark and overpowering the text (see figure -). The use of darker colour would allow the labels/packaging to stand out on the shelf more however the use of white for the text surrounded by the colour makes the information quite difficult to read. This lead to the use of more pastel colours (see figures 7-10), however it was difficult to find bright enough colours that didn't clash with the text. Upon reviewing the initial experimentations I feel figure 10 is the most successful as the use of a rectangular block of colour highlights the text allowing a more minimal aesthetic to be created as inspired by packing by companies such T2 and Whittards. 

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Figure 10

 After reviewing my initial experimented I decided to revisit the use of contour lines within the packaging, however I decided to go back to the map and draw more of the lines (see figure 11). This gave me more options when looking at the patterns within the lines themselves. Consequently leading to the idea to zoom into different sections of the drawn lines to create new patterns (see figure 12). After looking at the different patterns created I decided to combine the lines and the most successful colour experimentations to see if they would complement each other (see figure 13). Personally I feel these designs are the most successful out of those shown previously, however I feel they could be further developed with the experimentation of different processes such as engraving and embossing into both paper and metal.

Figure 11

Figure 12

Figure 13