Project Overview

New Order's team is made up of coffee experts who want to move craft coffee beyond the "third wave": no dark woods, no snobby baristas, no waiting fifteen minutes for a pour over. They use the most advanced technology to make the best product, and they hold to their founding values: "a gleeful defiance to the status quo" and "a singular, dogmatic aim: to delight and energize your everyday life."

They came to us unhappy with the results from a previous brand team and wanted to start over with an identity that pushed the envelope and looked like no competitor's. It also had to feel welcoming and inclusive to many kinds of people in their first shop, in Detroit's Brush Park neighborhood, while standing apart from every other coffee shop in the city.

The identity. The shop was first planned for a historic Detroit building, and although the location changed, its geometric art deco interiors shaped the look. Working closely with Detroit architects Et Al Collaborative, we made the identity bold enough to contrast with the natural wood, light counters, and daylight of the final space. A simplified, abstract coffee mug icon echoes the geometric shelving in the shop. A confetti-like dot pattern, timeless and playful, adds texture and personality to the interior and the packaging.

The packaging. Sourcing mattered, so we built a color system where each color represents a region of the world. New Order uses one bag design and swaps in different stickers, which suits their small runs of in-house roasted beans and keeps costs low. The same colors carry through to the in-store menus.

Everywhere else. The identity runs through the whole customer experience:

• Menus, and product and retail design

• Store exterior and interior signage

• Posters, postcards, and holiday window displays

• Employee aprons, the employee handbook, and coffee guides

• The online webstore
  

Project Brief

• Create a distinct visual identity and messaging for New Order Coffee Roasters

• Challenge the visual tropes and stereotypes of "third wave" coffee

Project Challenges

• Stand out in a crowded market of both craft and generic coffee

• Feel approachable and playful, yet knowledgeable, professional, and tech-forward

• Open in Brush Park, an up-and-coming neighborhood with little foot traffic at the time

Project Impact

• The identity has carried New Order through several chapters. It launched the first shop in Brush Park, MI, went on to a second location in Royal Oak in 2019, and now lives in a new space in St. Clair Shores, MI.

• The packaging was a 2018 nominee for the Specialty Coffee Association Design Lab Packaging Award.

• With Et Al Collaborative, we won a 2018 Commerce Design: Detroit award, part of the UNESCO City of Design Action Plan.

• Design Core Detroit chose the project as the branding case study in its Design Guide: Neighborhood Business.

Design-Related Press

• The Dieline "The Colorful Look of This Coffee Brand Helps It Stand Out From Others"

• The Dieline "City by City: 10 Detroit-Based Brands"

• Sprudge "Build-Outs of Summer: New Order Coffee in Detroit, MI"

• Index Design "Le concours Commerce Design pourrait bientôt voir le jour à Détroit"