THE CHALLENGE
Café Palma had the vibe: a hidden jungle in the middle of the city. But they needed brand system capturing that first-sip feeling, that moment when your whole body relaxes, across every touchpoint. They were expanding into CPG with cold brew cans. Brand had to stretch from in-store to on-shelf while still feeling like small escape. Consistent, craveable, recognizable in the wild.
THE SOLUTION
Built brand around ritual and refreshment. Café Palma became place where bold design met everyday joy, where lattes and tropical smoothies felt like small luxuries you could count on. Positioned as escape, not just treat. Color palette nodded to jungle greens and ripe fruit. Pink jaguar logomark gave brand its edge. Messaging stayed simple and sensory, focused on what it feels like to sip something that makes your whole body say yes. From product packaging to in-store menus, every detail designed to become part of daily routin
MY ROLE
Led brand development as Creative Director, building identity system rooted in sensory experience and behavioral design principles.
✔ Created complete brand identity system: logo suite with 4 variations, 6-color palette (sun-baked clay to midnight soil), typography hierarchy, brand photography style, illustration system
✔ Designed packaging for cold brew cans bringing shelf presence without losing brand tone, applied across coffee bags, cups, coasters, merchandise
✔ Directed visual language across posters, menus, digital content maintaining consistent tropical-meets-modern aesthetic
✔ Developed tone of voice grounded in sensory language: nourishment, escape, refreshment over product features
✔ Applied brand psychology principles: peak-end rule focusing branding around first-sip moment, emotional recall centering how drinks make people feel rather than what they contain
THE IMPACT
Brand Foundation Delivered: Complete identity system including logo suite, 6-color palette, typography system, brand photography guidelines, packaging templates for 8+ product types, social content framework, and in-store collateral system. Created flexible visual language translating seamlessly from cafe environment to retail shelf to digital platforms.
Strategic Positioning: Positioned Café Palma as ritual destination rather than convenience stop. Differentiated through sensory-first branding emphasizing experience over transaction. Built foundation enabling CPG expansion while maintaining brand integrity across channels.
System Scalability: Designed identity system supporting growth from single-location cafe to multi-channel brand. Created templates and guidelines enabling consistent execution across retail packaging, in-store experience, digital presence, and merchandise without requiring ongoing creative oversight for each application.
