OVERVIEW
The brand at a glance
Northbound roasts twelve single origins but shipped them in near-identical bags, so staff hand-wrote the difference on the seal. I built a packaging system where origin, roast level, and format are readable from across the room, without printing twelve separate designs.
Tools
Brand identity for Northbound Roasters — packaging applied across a retail counter
CONTEXT
Why the old identity failed
This Porfolio project is under development and will be updated soon.
Wholesale was growing faster than retail, and the bags were the problem. Customers could not tell a light Ethiopian from a dark Sumatran without reading a 9pt label, so they defaulted to whatever they bought last time and the newer origins never moved.
Print economics made it worse. Twelve fully custom bags meant twelve plate setups, which the roaster could not justify at their volume. The system had to create variety from a single structural template.
BRAND GOALS
What the system had to do
Make roast level readable at two metres without reading any text.
Fit twelve origins into one print template to protect unit economics.
Hold up under grease, condensation, and six weeks of shelf handling.
Leave room for seasonal releases without redesigning the base system.
METHODS + INSIGHTS
Research before decisions
Methods
- 01Shelf-back observation across three stockists during peak trading hours.
- 02Two-metre legibility tests on printed proofs, not screen mockups.
- 03Print-cost modelling with the supplier before committing to a structure.
- 04Staff interviews on which questions customers ask most at the counter.
Key insights
- 01Customers sorted by roast level first and origin second — the hierarchy was backwards.
- 02A colour-coded band did more work than any illustration or origin photography.
- 03Staff were compensating for the packaging, which cost real time at the counter.
- 04Matte stock read as premium but showed every fingerprint in the first week.
STRATEGY
The positioning decision
One structure, twelve voices
Instead of twelve designs, the system uses one fixed architecture with three variables: a roast band, an origin numeral, and a tasting-note line. The band carries roast level in a fixed three-step scale. The numeral gives regulars a shorthand they can reorder by. Everything else stays locked, which keeps plate costs flat and makes the range feel like a family rather than a collection.
One structure, twelve voices
Strategy artifacts that locked positioning before any visual exploration began.
VISUAL SYSTEM
Lockups, colour, type, rules
Primary lockup
01Front face of every bag and all retail signage.
Horizontal
02Cartons, shipping cases, and wholesale invoices.
Stacked
03Cup sleeves and 250g bags where width is limited.
Icon only
04Seal sticker, loyalty card, and social avatar.
Reversed
05Dark roast band and all late-night campaign work.
Kraft Base
Unprinted substrate. Reads as raw material, keeps cost down.
Ember
Light roast band. The brightest step in the roast scale.
Copper
Medium roast band. The volume seller across all stockists.
Rust
Dark roast band. Reversed white type only, never black.
Deep Pine
Wordmark and all body copy. Warmer than black on kraft.
Chalk
Reversed type and the decaf sub-range.
Condensed Grotesque · 700
Origin names set solid at 48pt on the front face.
YIRGACHEFFE
Humanist Sans · 400
Three notes maximum, separated by middots, 11pt minimum.
Bergamot · stone fruit · brown sugar
Mono · 500
Roast dates, batch codes, and weight declarations.
ROAST_DATE 04.12 · BATCH 118
color.roast.light
Ember (#F59E0B) — light roast band, always full-bleed across the seal.
color.roast.dark
Rust (#C2410C) — dark roast band, paired with reversed type only.
type.display
Condensed grotesque for origin names, set solid with no tracking.
grid.band
Roast band occupies the top 22% of every face without exception.
numeral.origin
Two-digit origin numeral at 96pt, bottom-left, consistent across formats.
stock.default
Uncoated kraft with a spot matte varnish on the band only.
[ IDENTITY_SPECIMENS ]
The system, up close.
Bag architecture
The fixed template with roast band, origin numeral, and tasting-note line called out.
Roast colour scale
Three-step roast scale tested for separation under warm retail lighting.
Range overview
All twelve origins together, showing family resemblance without repetition.
BRAND IN USE
Applied in the real world
Application surfaces are where a system either holds or falls apart. These are the shots that prove the rules survive contact with production.
Retail shelf
The range in situ at a stockist, shot at customer eye level rather than flat lay.
Counter and signage
Menu boards and counter signage reusing the roast band as an organising device.
Seasonal release
A limited release proving the system extends without breaking the template.
RESULTS
What changed after launch
RANGE_DISCOVERY
+34%
Sales shifting to previously slow-moving origins within one quarter.
PRINT_COST
−22%
Per-unit cost after consolidating twelve designs into one template.
COUNTER_TIME
−40%
Time staff spent explaining the difference between origins.
NEXT
What I'd do next
01
Extend the roast scale to cold brew and ready-to-drink formats.
02
Test a recycled substrate that holds the band colour without shifting.
03
Build a wholesale kit so stockists merchandise the range correctly.
