process: guatemala small lot coffee

coffee

Description

This is a design for Trader Joe’s Small Lot coffee programĀ (coffees with a 2-3 month shelf presence). Due to the limited time in stores these coffee designs deviate from any established line-look and thusly benefit from quite a bit of design freedom. This is also a sneak peek into my process and how sketches take my projects from conception to completion. In this case I wanted to reference the Guatemalan Quetzal bird without being overtly literal. This was accomplished by creating an iconographic crest which serves to hold the type. Initially I experimented with a craft bag, butĀ then felt that the contemporary design was incongruous with the texture. Ultimately I worked with the printer to achieve a metallic effect on a dark gray matte finish. The sides of the bag are chartreuse and magenta with a repeating pattern of the crest. This was a very successful item that generated a lot of excitement in this category.