Brand: starbucks reserveReserve Card Packaging
My Role: Illustration & Type Design
ABOUT
The unique packaging of Starbucks Reserve coffee allows for small print runs to have a regularly refreshed design for small lot coffee. The thick textured paper of this card with copper foil elevate the illustrations to match the uniqueness of the coffee.
STARBUCKS RESERVE CARD
Sun-Dried Bolivia Kusillo Java
Smooth and balanced banana and red apple highlights with a brown-sugar finish.
About the Coffee: Despite having a name that’s often synonymous with coffee, a 100% Java lot is a rare and exciting find. The varietal can be challenging to cultivate, but Bolivia’s Kusillo Farm had extraordinary success with their very first crop. Grown overlooking the Andes Mountains, these remarkable sun-dried beans deliver a delicious, fruit-forward cup profile.
My Approach: For this illustration, I researched the area, and painted the various terrain of mountains, waterfalls, farmland, and the winding Going-to-the-Sun road while also including hints of tropical rainfall. The warm color palette ties into the flavor profile of this coffee – banana and red apple, and the natural sun-dried processing of the coffee.
STARBUCKS RESERVE CARDMalawi Sable Farms
Delicate citrus aromas with cranberry notes and a creamy chocolate finish.
About the Coffee
Southern Malawi, landlocked and hampered by a lack of infrastructure, is not an easy place to grow coffee. Using drip irrigation systems for precise watering, solar coffee dryers to save energy, composting, water reuse and filtering, and regular soil monitoring, their processing is the picture of environmental care.
My Approach
Inspired by the thoughtful and meticulous efforts the farmers use to grow the coffee, I created a rainbow out of many colorful lines that represent rain – the dark background of the rainbow signifies the difficulty in growing in their region and the bright center signifies the breakthroughs they have created with their methods. The drip irrigation systems for precise watering is represented by the large water droplets, while the copper foil dots at the bottom represent the water reuse, filtering and soil monitoring.
STARBUCKS RESERVE CARDMéxico Guadalupe Zajú
Floral aromas with lemon accents, milk chocolate notes and a golden honey sweetness.
About the Coffee
First generation coffee farmer Eduardo Esteve, fueled by a boundless passion for outstanding coffee, experimented with seven different processing approaches this year alone. Finally landing on the washed method for this lot. In partnering with some of the world’s most visionary coffee minds, the farm is committed to sound practices that benefit both cup and community.
My Approach
Inspired by Eduardo’s story of experimentation and partnership, I drew on the tradition of weaving in Mexico to create a textile design made of building blocks and symmetry to signify the interconnectedness of his approach. The flavor profile inspired the color palette – lemon accents are represented with a neon yellow ink, the golden honey sweetness is hinted at with the glow of the neon orange, while the milk chocolate notes ground the palette.