I’m an illustrator/ brand designer and my branding studio specializes in small business branding. So when I’m picking up my coffee, I often find myself sort of critiquing the spaces and branding around me. And don’t get me wrong, it’s usually not bad and I LOVE my favorite local places but, I also almost always see something I think could be improved.
In this case I was trying out a new coffee place that had just moved into the same space where my former favorite coffee shop, Leslie's, had recently gone out of business.
I had been (and still am) really sad to see Leslie’s go. The owner made a point of positive interaction with the community and I’d always loved what she did with the interior. It was absolutely full of plants. I mean REALLY full of plants. I see a lot of coffee shops that try and fail to base their aesthetic on ‘plants everywhere’ because it’s such a common thing, it really only sets you apart if you go overboard; Leslie’s went overboard.
So when I walked into the new place and saw they had taken away most of the plants and the only new point of interest was a blank pink accent wall, it felt a little empty. I know they were aiming for sleek and modern but it felt lifeless and boring, despite the fact they have a beautiful building. To their credit they’ve improved quite a bit since then and mostly solved the problem. Now there’s a really beautiful bar with a nice mirror where half the accent wall used to be and paintings on the walls as well, but I’d still like to see a little more creativity.
Particularly I thought the pick accent was just begging for some illustrations, so decided to see what it would look like if I made some.
I wanted to create something that would bring a little life into the space and work with the color they already have going on. I also wanted to play on their name ‘Pennate’ because there is just so much potential for creativity there! One of the remaining plants has started crawling along the wall too, so I thought I’d bring that into the illustration.
They’ve also recently expanded their seating, adding on another small room. The decor there was sort of empty so I decided to add some illustration there as well. I wanted to stick with the pick color scheme as well as maintain the calming mood they’re already cultivating. I actually tried a couple of designs for this one. Which do you like best?
What do you think? Do you prefer the before or after?
If you want to see even more examples of what a mural can do for a cafe/ small business, here’s another fantastic article: https://kreafolk.com/blogs/inspirations/mural-art-coffee-shop
And if you want to learn more of how your space can utilize illustration design and the process of making it happen you can check out my small business branding page: https://www.kamillaillustration.com/small-business-branding
And if you'd like something similar in your own small business branding, I'd love to help you! Just contact me here!
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