Case study: Why evolve your brand visual system
The history of the creation and evolution of a coffee brand will set you off on a journey.
The project for Biji, a coffee manufacturer, is important to us because we’ve participated not only in the creation and launch of the brand but also in its evolution. Together with us, it made the way from a little startup for connoisseurs of good coffees, to a large bean supplier for the business segment. It all started three years ago, when a team of young guys, who had just been back from Indonesia, got in touch with APUS. Actually, good coffee had always been a rarity in the market, while the number of its lovers was constantly growing. This inspired the Biji founders to set out in search of the best coffee beans on remote plantations of South-East Asia. They armed themselves with their experience, knowledge, and passion for good coffee, and set out to Indonesia. From village to village, from region to region — the company founders traveled across the country, making stops at coffee farms. They met farmers, watched the bean production process closely, shared roof and food with them. And, of course, tasting coffee. Again, again and again. Until they finally fixed upon three plantations of high-mountain Arabica. Later, the first three sorts of Biji coffee product lines were named after these three farms.
Stage 1. Launch
We grew fond of this story and decided to take it as a basis for brand development. Actually, it was an ideal solution to the tasks set for us. We had to develop a corporate identity, including a logo and packing design, as well as Biji’s corporate website. In other words, we had to build greenfield relationships with buyers, starting with the acquaintance, making it maximally impressive. To do this, we decided to make the consumer involved in the birth of the product and to set them off on a journey across Indonesia.
Package
Package became one of the key elements of the storytelling. We placed the farmers’ portraits on it, made in an emotional, expressive manner. Through them, the abstract idea of the brand acquired definitely tangible features — those of Mr. Sakti and Mr. Darman. They seemed to invite buyers to hear their story and to be carried over thousands of kilometers to secret coffee fields of Indonesia. We wanted to generate a feeling among the audience that they don’t have a product of an impersonal corporation before them, but rather the fruits of real people’s labor. People who have their characters, their habits, their appearance. To make the interaction with the brand as human as possible, and to make buyers coming to the shop to have another pack of Biji happy as if they saw an old acquaintance. The one responsible for a specific sort of coffee, personally guaranteeing its quality and taste.
Website
The story about the journey to Indonesia in search of the best coffee beans gained momentum on Biji’s website. There was a collection of travelers’ stories there about the everyday life and household of farmers growing coffee in various regions of the island. The stories were supported by real photos made during the journey. And, to ensure full immersion, we provided an interactive map of the island, showing the route followed by Biji founders. But the website was not only an entertainment, it had also to be a tool to sell. Therefore, we provided descriptions of the three sorts of coffee and tied them to the regions they were grown in. Right here it was possible to buy the coffee and to order delivery.
Visual ecosystem
We were scrupulous about creating the brand’s visual language: we selected thoroughly an eye-catching font, a recognizable color code, and a laconic vertical makeup. We made a special focus on the ecosystem’s icon graphics. By using easy-to-understand and graphically noticeable icons, we described the brewing methods suitable for each sort of coffee. By doing this, we showed that Biji is an expert in the complicated coffee brewing culture, including the most sophisticated methods.
Logo
As opposed to bright illustrations, we decided to make the logo maximally simple and graphic, for it to stand out on the pack and to be easy to remember. This solution was prompted by the name, Biji, which means “a coffee bean” in the Indonesian language. Four beans in a line seem to repeat the lettering of the name, while forming a crown together, to emphasize the specialty level of the coffee — the high-mountain Arabica of the same cropping period, subjected to three sorting phases.
The launch of the campaign by the brand provided good coverage in mass media. Publications about the start of the new product appeared both in Russian and in foreign media outlets. The information was caught up by professional publics, which allowed restaurants and other coffee business players to learn about Biji.
Stage 2. Evolution
The successful start was followed by marked growth of the company. Biji was no more limited to coffee supplies from Indonesia and encompassed new and new territories. Therefore, the company entrusted APUS to renew their corporate style and package design. Other factors that required the pack to be rethought came into play. Firstly, the number of pack sizes increased. Secondly, Biji wanted to simplify the package production and to make it cheaper. Actually, it used to be produced by outsourced printing houses in Turkey. Now, the company endeavored to increase the volume and rate of production, therefore, the packing had to be produced locally, at its own facilities.
Challenges
The task wasn’t really a simple one. We had to think about how to keep the design as bright and distinctive while giving up the costly package. An original solution had to be conceived using an all too conventional carrier — a sticker. At first, we felt like being very restrained. However, soon, we came to a solution that defined all subsequent work on the design.
Solution
We noticed that the logo applied on a bag changed very much, once the bag was filled with coffee. It became twisted and unevenly stretched so that it only vaguely resembled the original. Therefore, we decided to bend the logo outline and to give it the shape of an arc. Thus, we managed to keep the logo readable on plumped bags, and at the same time, we found a technique that we used throughout the entire pack design. The outline of the label, the layout of the logo, the shape of the illustration received a wavy profile. This made the pack look light and unconventional, and thus, more perceptible on the shelf.
Brand Identity
We wanted to maintain succession and to make the new version of the packing not less bright and expressive than its predecessor. Therefore, noticeable local colors were taken as a basis of the color code matching the various sorts. We used a large, bold type of clear lettering, easily readable from any distance. And to keep the packing decoration design emotional, we chose figures of rare animals inhabiting the areas from where Biji delivers its coffee. The figures were painted in a graving-like manner as if they leaped from the pages of books about heroic deeds of path-breakers, which was a subtle reference to the adventure theme set at the very beginning.
Added value
In terms of sales, Biji has strongly focused on the business segment, supplying bean coffee to coffee houses and restaurants. As a rule, suppliers do not care about the package design, leaving it rather impersonal. In the case of Biji, the bright package has brought an unexpected image dividend. We noticed that many restaurant keepers put coffee packs out to the shelf. With increasing frequency, this becomes the case of Biji packs. The distinctively designed packs strike the attention while ensuring coverage and awareness among visitors.
As a result, we managed to solve the main task set by the client — we developed a new visual ecosystem, subject to simplified packing production and extended territory of coffee supplies. It is distinctive, recognizable, and develops the traveling theme. Besides, we obtained an additional result by using unconventional solutions to increase the brand awareness among visitors of coffee houses and restaurants.
The solutions invented and the design standards set by us live on in new Biji brand packages and visual language. They logically transform and evolve, while keeping the brand’s DNA created together with the company founders, based on humanity, bright character, and the desire to create the world’s best coffee.
Full case video about Biji brand evolution.
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