Common Man
Coffee Roaster’s
10th Anniversary Drawing Competition
Common Man Coffee Roasters is a specialty coffee roaster, wholesaler, online coffee shop, barista academy & coffee shop operator in Singapore and across Asia.
CMCR approached me and asked me to create an artwork that would not only celebrate their 10th birthday, but also encourage their customers to draw for a chance to have their artwork printed on the takeaway sleeves of their coffee cups.
Brief
To celebrate their 10th anniversary, CMCR wanted to reflect on their ethos - connections and conversations brought together over a cup of great coffee, a cup of coffee made possible by farmers, baristas, coffee lovers and roasters. The phrase 'from cherry to cup' perfectly sums up the angle of this project.
As a thank you to the community, CMCR needed a key visual that would evoke feelings of celebration, a sense of community, while incorporating birthday and coffee elements.
Conceptualising
On the right is the client's moodboard. Here were some common details that helped me craft out the first round of the concepts:
Small characters in a larger-than life environment
Nature elements - esp. leaves
Coffee elements - cup & moka pot
Confetti around
Hand-drawn illustration
Concept 1
To create a sense of celebration at first glance, I proposed a birthday cake as the main focal point, framed by characters representing the different coffee communities.
To reinforce the coffee visual, I placed the cake in a field of coffee plants and wild flowers, a typical landscape for coffee pickers.
Feedbacks & Revisions
Concept 1 was chosen as it was more in line with their brand whereas concept 2 was too funky. The latter was proposed with the intention of shaking things up and ramping the excitement of this celebration.
Final Artwork
A final final version was created after round 4, with edits to the in-visual copy. Adaptations were made for Instagram post and story, and the KV was printed on an A1 poster.
Round 2
Keeping the cake for the celebratory angle, a take-away cup now sits atop the single tiered cake base. This introduces the idea that this poster has an activity related to the takeaway cup as part of a birthday celebration.
The characters now populate the base of the takeaway cup, again illustrating the 'cherry to cup' process. 2 new characters surround the mug on ladders and paint the party hats.
The floral elements have been minimised, bringing the focus to the activities while leaving ample space for the IVC.
Concept 2
Moving away from the more traditional visual element of a birthday, i.e. the cake, Concept 2 focuses more on the fun vibes and whimsical nature of a birthday party.
The characters are now more fashionably dressed, although each individual still represents an aspect of the coffee community.
From the selection, a series of changes were then required, especially as the focus of the artwork shifted away from celebration as a primary priority to the art competition instead.
Round 3
By removing the cake entirely, the celebratory element is now present in the design of the takeaway mug, which is 'drawn' by 3 characters. To further emphasise that this is an art challenge, more detail has been added to the cup - the line detail on the lid and slightly more elements on the cup.
For a more abstract background, curved lines have been added leading to the cup. These background elements have been kept relatively simple and move towards the cup to draw our eyes to the centre.
Round 4
For the final version, a cleaner and more minimalist look was created.
The cup is now surrounded by coffee plants and flowers with reduced detailing and handwritten text for visual cohesion.
Challenge
Halfway through it became clear that I liked filling in negative spaces. This resulted in some cluttered rounds that lost focus on the main message, which was the cup/art competition. I now realise that I always need to take a step back, make sure the main message is still at the forefront and allow the visual space to breathe.