Here Design recently created a new brand identity for artisan coffee company Redemption Roasters. Each batch of Redemption Roasters coffee is prepared by inmates enrolled in a training programme at Aylesbury Young Offenders Institute, which aims to reduce reoffending rates through purposeful activity in an otherwise aimless confinement.
Through a partnership with the Ministry of Justice, Redemption Roasters operates a roastery and barista academy within Aylesbury Young Offenders Institute, delivering freshly roasted beans to their coffee shop in Bloomsbury and network of wholesalers and consumers.
Here Design took inspiration from this powerful story of redemption through skill-building within the inmate population in the design of the new Redemption Roasters identity, following the journey with a series of colourful graphics, symbols and illustrations.
Here Design introduced a strong, simple logo that brings together the two 'Rs' of the brand name into a keyhole form to represent the unlocking of a prison door and the unlocking of untapped potential. The logo design also reflects the silhouette of a coffee roaster as an additional nod to the process behind each cup of Redemption Rosters coffee.
A secondary language uses a playful mix of colours and symbols to ensure that the Redemption Roasters brand stands out in a category dominated by craft brown - and more recently black - packaging, whilst telling the story of the beans from roast to cup.
Whilst the new identity highlights Redemption Roasters as pioneers for purposeful activity, the design also speaks to the redemptive powers of coffee as a restorative drink for the weary, appealing to a wider consumer audience.
"Redemption Roasters is a story of cause and effect, so we introduced a dynamic brand identity that follows this journey and enables the consumer to be part of this powerful redemptive process," commented Tess Wicksteed, Strategy Partner, Here Design. "Despite the incredible volumes of coffee consumed every day, many people still don't understand how it is made and how the process relates to the taste of their cup of coffee. The new identity tells this story through a beautiful and descriptive design system that is a celebration of the working community behind each cup of coffee."
