Carolina Cold Brew Co.
SPRING 2023
Brand Designer, Product Designer
ROLE
Branding, UI/UX
DISCIPLINE
January 2023 — May 2023
TIMELINE
ABOUT CAROLINA COLD BREW CO.
Carolina Cold Brew Co. (CCBC) is a one-person business in San Francisco bringing affordable, accessible cold brew to community spaces (like student unions and coworking spaces). In each space, a cold brew vending tap is installed, charging people $1.50/cup and letting them dispense as much coffee as they want into their own vessels, creating a cheap, environmentally-conscious source of coffee that serves users desiring any amount of caffeine.
I was asked to build a comprehensive brand identity and design guidelines for CCBC, then using those guidelines to design a simple-to-use prototype for the vending tap display.
FINAL SOLUTION
A cohesive brand identity and design guide that conveys accessibility and convenience, showcased by designs for the vending tap’s order screens
BRAND AUDIT
I first examined the existing branding guidelines that CCBC used in its marketing materials, pitch decks, and website. While they conveyed the desired convenience and amicability, styles were inconsistent and spanned too many options for any new design. Instead, CCBC wanted its branding to take on sleekness without sacrificing approachability – indicating that the business was, like its vending tap, a well-oiled machine.
BRANDING IDEATION
An exploration of colors and typography in the context of different displays, logo redesigns, and other environments, done in frequent communication with and feedback from CCBC’s founder.
BRANDING SOLUTION
A branding guide communicating CCBC’s purpose, ease, and abundance, to be utilized for marketing materials, slide decks, and digital interfaces.
VENDING TAP DISPLAY ITERATION
After I mapped out a basic flow for the users of the vending tap, I built a basic prototype of screens outlining that flow, also heavily iterating on certain decision screens, like the real-time updating Dispense Metrics and Cold Brew Selection screens.
USER FLOW
ITERATION
VENDING TAP DISPLAY SOLUTION
A few screens from the sleek tablet prototype that guides the user through cold brew selection, provides dispense metrics, and shows pricing with ease and clear displays.
REFLECTIONS
Working on a project that included both branding and digital product design was a first for me. It really illustrated how the identity of a company, its brand, and its mission are so deeply intertwined. I loved building a set of design guidelines and using them in concrete applications to support a local business.