Abyss Coffee Branding

Agency: Cool Nerds Marketing

Date: 2018

About the client:

Abyss Coffee is a charming coffee destination known for its cozy atmosphere and captivating artwork in Lansdale, PA. Abyss Coffee is known for their dark and bold coffee, and diverse menu, featuring delicious pastries and breakfast items. The inviting vibe, complemented by friendly staff, creates a welcoming environment for both quick visits and relaxed gatherings.

The creative challenge:

At the time, Abyss was a brand new coffeeshop and had no branding or logo. The owner wanted to create a personality that blended a sophisticated atmosphere and aesthetic with an affordable, down to earth tone.

Role: Art Director / Lead Graphic Designer

Branding & Identity, Print design, Merchandise & Product design, Digital & Social Graphic Design, Web design, Art Direction for illustration

Team:

Account Executive: Amanda Rose

Copywriter: Bruce Gunacti

Illustrator: Carmelle Senzamici

Web Manager: Caleb Trotter

Social Lead: Maria Ott

Brand Identity Exploration

Original taking inspiration from a nautical theme, I experimented with a logo based on a ship's figurehead. Although the sketches were elegant and striking they all felt busy. Instead after further exploration, the final solution was a subtle, thoughtfully stylized logotype that plays on the extreme depth of the abyss. It features altered proportions and x-heights of each letter. For the brand's color palette, I chose a bold, dark combination of black, dark grays and a vibrant rusty red.

Signage & Print

We typically used our primary brand typesetting for interior signage, promotional designs, and menus in order to create a cohesive, easily legible suite of print and digital assets. For their gift cards and illustrated wall mural, we used a secondary, accent script to balance out the more utiltarian typesetting with a comforting, warm style that welcomes customers in to enjoy their coffee and meal.

Abyss's color palatte of darks, lights, and accent colors allowed artwork adapt to the interior and exterior walls and decor of the coffeeshop. Using dark backgrounds with white text for signage on lighter walls, or light backgrounds with a fern or brick accented text on dark walls.

Merch

Website

We wanted to make an easy-to-use website to house their digital menus and drive traffic online traffic. Customers clicking through from digital and social campaigns can learn more and find the closest cafe location. Using a mobile-friendly template, we developed a website that made it easy to update prices or add new special offers.