KOA coffee shop

KOA is a speciality coffee bar in Exmouth Market, London EC1 set up by a brother and sister who grew up in Auckland and Melbourne, where no fuss, quality coffee is the norm. They wanted stand out branding that reflected their 'no palava' approach. I created the brand identity - with full suit of assets including - interior design, website and provide on-going design support.

Speciality coffee shops can, at times, be a little intimidating with confusing menus and industrial layouts - a place for coffee 'experts'. The owners knew that for lots of people it felt safer to go to Starbucks. They wanted their space to be welcoming with crystal clear point of sale so that anyone could walk off the street and seamlessly leave with a precision-made, speciality cup of coffee without having to ask any questions.

I kept the branding simple monochrome - a large menu with clear graphics to explain exactly what each coffee was. I wanted to make the most of the small space so comissioned a bespoke artwork from illustrator Agata Wierzbicka. I created a repeat and we printed it as huge scale wallpaper, off-set perfectly with simple monochrome stripes which we had tiled into the floor. The wallpaper includes a nod to the owner's Kiwi roots featuring red flowers from the native New Zealand Puhutakawa tree.