Bronze Packaging Design · 2020
Co Ba Coffee Packaging Design
by My Linh Mac
- A' Design Award 2020 Bronze Winner in Packaging Design
- Awarded April 15, 2020
- CLIENT: Mmac
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 15,999
- Verification code 5E3D9D38F9 · Verify this award
About Co Ba Coffee Packaging Design
Co Ba Coffee is a packaging design created for a Vietnamese coffee brand. The packaging presents egg coffee, a traditional drink from Vietnam that is still little known in other countries. The logo is based on a minimalist portrait of the founder. The brand name comes from a Vietnamese term for an aunt and recalls family bonds and community life. Colors are taken from the agricultural landscape where the coffee beans are grown. Recyclable paper and polyester are used for the pouches and the stationery. The modern design is aimed at coffee drinkers on the go.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- Co Ba Coffee is a new coffee start-up by Ms. Huong also known as Co Ba from Hoi An. Co Ba wants to introduce Vietnamese food and coffee culture to the world. Co Ba wants to highlight the identity and creativity with unique caffeinated beverages that break from French colonization coffee traditions. The goal is to introduce the authentic and unique egg coffee, part of Vietnamese culture for decades, but still very new to the rest of world's food map.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Coffee Pouch Dimension: 3/8" x 2 1/2" x 13" inches
- Tags
- graphic design, visual communication, coffee brand, packaging design, stationery design, illustration
- Production Technology
- Stationaries and product packaging with recyclable paper and polyester.
- Design Challenge
- As the client is from and locates in Hoi An, Vietnam and the designer is based in Chicago, online, cyber communication was quite challenging due to the different time zone.
- Project Duration
- October 2019- Jan 2020, Chicago, IL, USA
- Operation Flow
- The appeal of the design is a modern packaging integrated with the bold, flavorful coffee that is meant to attract coffee drinkers on-the-go such as teenagers and young adult, who also the brand's main consumer target.
- Research
- Methodology: One-on-one consultation with client, historical research on Vietnamese food evolve through colonization, collect visual data such as images of Vietnam's landscape that tell local folk culture and stories, online marketing.
Objective: To establish an attractive coffee brand to consumers of all ages. - Inspiration
- The logo design is based on a minimalist image of Ms. Huong. We used Co Ba a Vietnamese term for the second aunt in a Vietnamese family, as our brand name to symbolize the nostalgia of family bonds, cultural and community cohesion. The brand has a strong identity reinforced through package design as the packaging incorporated colors from the Vietnamese agricultural landscape where the coffee beans are cultivated.
- Patents
- copyrights belong to My Linh Mac, 2020
Colors of Co Ba Coffee Packaging Design
Design Interview about Co Ba Coffee Packaging Design
My main inspiration for Co Ba Coffee project is from my cultural heritage and my client's vision for her company- which is to introduce the uniqueness of Vietnamese coffee culture to the world.
My main focus was to create strong identity for the brand that stood out among other Vietnamese coffee brand out there. My secondary focus was to share inspiring story about the company's founder- who is a extraordinary women came from humble background and work tirelessly to achieve her dream with her coffee company. I believe by knowing more about the company, the brand would be more marketable and appealing to the consumers.
I hope my design will receive positive recognition and my successful story would inspire young designers out there, including my dear students.
It took me approximately over 2 months to complete the main concepts from consultations, sketches, design, adjustment to final design.
I decided to pursuit a new inspiration as I get to know my client better. I was very fortunately to have such inspiring clients who share the same aesthetic mindset and challenge me to move forward in the most positive way. Half way through the project, I decided to make a bold choice of incorporate her illustration into the final design and made major changes to the original design. The final design was beyond our expectations.
No. My client authorized me all ownership of the design.
Packaging and branding design has always been my focus areas as a designer.
For this project, no.
My main target customer/consumers are young adult such as college students, office employees who consume coffee on daily basis. The brand and products are for everyone regardless on their age, occupations and culture backgrounds.
I personally think having portrait with strong cultural representation on coffee packaging is a very rare yet catchy concept. I am positive that it would standout and attract many consumers.
We used “Co Ba” a Vietnamese term for the second aunt in a Vietnamese family, as our brand name to symbolize the nostalgia of family bonds, cultural and community cohesion.
Adobe suite was my main design tools.
1) Strong cultural representation, 2) Refreshing, 3) Appealing
This a solo project.
Technology plays major role in this project, not just for the production process but also for communication as well, since my client is in Hoi An, Vietnam, I am based in Chicago on different time zone.
No. However I did my research on other coffee brand design as well as history of Vietnamese coffee to find 'niche' for this brand. It was a long but very rewarding process.
The biggest challenge is communication with my client through different time zone and explaining technical design and software terms to my client because she is not from creative background.
I intentions was to satisfy my curiosity, testing the water of international design competition. I was recommended by a expert designer who believe in my works as well.
I have learn many things from the process, and one of them is to trust your instinct and be adventurous as a designer, as well as pay careful attention on details consistantly.
None. Thank you