Crooked Tree Coffee House: Brand Refresh

Overview

The Crooked Tree Coffee House is a family-owned café known for crafting exceptional coffee and creating a welcoming, community-centered space. While the café’s in-person experience was warm and inviting, its visual identity—across signage, packaging, and digital presence—no longer fully reflected the quality, personality, and care behind the brand.

A strategic brand refresh was undertaken to modernize the visual system, strengthen brand recognition, and create a cohesive identity that could support marketing, in-store materials, and future digital touchpoints.

Brand Evolution

Role

Brand Designer

Focus

Brand Strategy: Print & Digital Media

Scope

Updated Brand Identity

Check out the mobile and web applications!

Challenge:

Evolve the visual identity to reflect the warmth, craftsmanship, and approachable personality of the café while establishing a flexible, consistent system for all touchpoints.

Objectives:

Modernize the visual identity to reflect quality, care, and community focus
Create a cohesive system for in-store signage, packaging, and marketing materials
Preserve the café’s approachable, personal, and friendly personality
Strengthen brand recognition and differentiation in a competitive local coffee market
Establish a scalable design system for future growth and applications

Strategy:

The refresh focused on translating the café’s in-person warmth and community-first approach into a consistent visual system.

Key considerations included:

Balancing modern refinement with handcrafted, approachable elements
Creating a versatile design system that works across print, packaging, signage, and digital applications
Preserving brand equity while simplifying and strengthening typography, color, and iconography
Enhancing the café’s friendly personality and human connection visually

Execution

Updated the logo to feel approachable and modern while retaining a handcrafted, authentic character.

Bringing the Brand to Life

Crooked Tree Coffee House Marketing Materials

Crooked Tree Coffee House Indoor Signage

Execution:

Color & Typography: Refined colors to convey warmth and friendliness; updated typography to enhance readability and flexibility across materials.
Supporting Graphics & Iconography: Introduced consistent patterns, shapes, and icons to unify signage, packaging, and marketing collateral.
Collateral Refresh: Applied the updated identity across menus, in-store signage, merchandise, and marketing materials to create a cohesive brand experience.
Guidelines & Scalability: Developed a visual system and usage guidelines to ensure consistency across all future applications, including seasonal campaigns and promotional materials.

Impact

Modernized brand identity that reflects the café’s quality, personality, and community-centered approach
Strengthened recognition and differentiation among local competitors
Created a cohesive, flexible system applicable across multiple touchpoints
Preserved the warmth and human connection that defines the Crooked Tree experience
Established a scalable foundation for future growth, marketing initiatives, and seasonal campaigns