No Design Experience? No Problem!

Since your order quantity can be as low as 10 units for tin cans or 100 units for gusset bags when using our Online Design Tool (believe it or not, we’re working on making even smaller orders a thing) it’s perfect for more established roasters who need seasonal packaging or want to try switching things up for a special event. With a streamlined PDF proofing process and our legendary quick turnaround, there’s no need to plan those moves months in advance.

For home roasters, custom packaging can help make gifts, samples, giveaways, or debuting your coffee at a farmer’s market feel like an appropriately big deal. You want peoples’ first impressions to reflect the quality of your beans, after all.

Our Online Design Tool is built to make the custom packaging process easy and convenient - just pick a pattern, choose your colors, and add your logo and text.

One part of the process that might feel big or intimidating, though, is the option to add an image to your design. As usual, we’re eager to help…

Those are some of our favorite questions, as well as big reasons that we’ve assembled an incredible network of designers (which we can’t recommend enough).

The truth is, you don’t technically need a logo for our Online Design Tool orders. If you just use a photo you like or include text that describes your product, you’ll save on artwork fees and hourly designer rates. That’s a great call if you’re a small operation or if you only need a few dozen bags, this time.

Investing in a logo and visual identity is a decent upfront cost, but when you work with a skilled designer, the results can pull in new customers and build your brand’s reputation. We’ve asked Laura Spaeth, Alcindo Correa, and Adam Feller, three of our most seasoned pros, to weigh in on the pros and cons of your custom design options, as well as what guides their design processes.

1. What can a logo communicate about a brand?

Laura: Everything! It conveys the voice that is intended to speak to the target audience. It tells the story of your brand in a snapshot.

Alcindo: To me, a logo is the visual representation of a brand after the branding process. Logos can communicate brand values, personality, and quality.

Adam: A logo can communicate many things, both positive and negative. If a logo looks like it was done cheaply, then customers will assume the product is also cheaply made and low quality. That doesn’t mean they’re right, but they have to judge the book by its cover. The same can be said for high-quality professional logos. Your logo doesn’t need to tell you what the product in the package is, that’s for the packaging design. Your logo can communicate what your brand is about and who you’re appealing to. It can be luxurious, sophisticated, fun, whimsical, cheeky, sage, or many other adjectives.

2. What should someone think about or come prepared with when you work with them to create a logo?

Laura: A target market, a price point, and, if possible, a general vibe (masculine, fun and approachable, high-end luxury, etc.).

Alcindo: Start to understand where they are as a brand (branding maturity), what they want to communicate, and who their target and competitors are. This first talk is all about their brand.

Adam: A few basic things like their name and an understanding of their product. Some other helpful things we look for are vision and goals for the company. Is there anything that makes your product unique from your competitors? Who are your customers that we are targeting? And what is the message, essence, or image you want to portray to those customers?

3. What is the design process like for you when creating a logo for a new client?

Laura: It depends a lot on the client! Some clients like to be super involved and we collaborate during the draft process, while others find it easier to see a finished design or mockup before they can tell what they like or don’t like.

Alcindo: My Process is based on Gathering Information (briefing), Research and Ideation (concepts), Prototyping and Approvals, and Delivery. I always start a new logo design project after the branding identity process, with a good definition of the brand and who we will serve. Having a good conversation about the entrepreneur and business is essential.

Adam: We always start our process with a discovery call where we start our data gathering for the rest of the process. We get into great detail about the company, the founders, their story, their customers, and lastly some general creative direction. After that meeting, we gather internally to discuss strategy and approach before developing mood boards.

Once we have an approved mood board direction we build out what we call style scapes. This is essentially an expanded mood board that goes more in-depth and might have some preliminary design work or sketches. The last part of our concept phase is to create actual original designs. From here each designer on our team might have different approaches. Some start with sketches and some prefer to dive right into Adobe Illustrator and start hashing out what’s in their head.

4. What are common challenges you experience with clients who are working with a designer for the first time?

Laura: Trust is one – it’s important to trust that your brand is in good hands and trust that your designer has your goals and best interests in mind when they present [their] ideas. I think another common challenge is understanding some of the fundamentals of logo or packaging design – the requirements and functions that are necessary for any design to be successful, but as the designer, it’s my job to help explain that!

Alcindo: Most startups think more about products and services before creating a clear vision of the brand, making it challenging for the designer to understand their needs. Clients also may have unrealistic expectations about the resources and process to create a quality logo creating budget limitations. And finally, Clients may be hesitant to trust the designer's expertise and may resist suggestions or recommendations.

Adam: The first challenge is the logo they’re coming to us with is very clearly designed by a cheap site like Fiverr and isn’t unique at all. It’s very hard to design around a poor logo.

Second, they are coming to us with a design in their head already when in reality they are paying us for our expertise and our proven ability to come up with unique ideas.

Lastly, most clients who are just starting their first business have no idea how much our branding and design services cost. They’ve seen an Instagram ad that told them these entrepreneurs started their million-dollar company on a dime. You can find cheap designers, but graphic design and branding are definitely “you get what you pay for” services.

5. What, in your opinion and experience, makes an effective logo? Does it have to do with scalability, uniqueness, simplicity, or something else?

Laura: The fundamentals of a logo such as scalability, working well in single color, and being able to translate to several mediums. If your logo can do that you are already off to a good start – then I think it is truly how well it represents your brand and speaks to your audience!

Alcindo: An effective logo is an asset of branding to communicate what your brand is and stands for, is memorable and unique, can be recognized by people, and is versatile from social media, and website to packaging applications.

Adam: Effective logos are concise and strike an emotion. It certainly helps when the company name is short, unique, and interesting. The name can determine what direction you go creatively as well. The logo shouldn’t be super elaborate and intricate as that sort of design doesn’t scale to small sizes well and can make viewers gloss over it.

Your logo should also be unique and hard to replicate. Too many small brands just pick a font and type out the letters. You don’t have to have a symbol or icon in your logo, but if you have what we call a “word mark” with just letters then there should be some kind of customization, even if it’s small.

6. What are some simple ways you can build a visual identity around your logo?

Laura: Consistency is really important to developing a good brand. Makings are that all of your marketing collateral, social presence, packaging, etc., have a cohesive feel. They don’t have to be twinning but fonts, color palettes, and themes help create that unified message and increase brand recognition.

Alcindo: I use mockups to explore and refine the logos. My favorite mockups are business cards, uniforms, signage, and packaging. Sometimes it is necessary to add an environment or menus.

Adam: Colors, typography, and graphic elements like textures and patterns. These elements make your brand more distinctive. It’s not easy, but the ultimate test is to remove your logo from a design and see if your brand message still comes through as you intend. For example, if you remove the iconic golden arches from the McDonald's french fry containers you still know where they come from because of the color.

7. Please add any tips or advice you’d like to share!

Alcindo: Branding first. Start with a deep understanding of your brand’s identity, values, and mission. What does your brand represent? What emotions or messages do you want to convey through your logo?

Feel Your Brand. Think about adjectives, emotions, and concepts associated with your business. These words will serve as inspiration for your logo design.

Your Brand and Your Logo is for Your Client. Creating and understanding your buyer persona will help to create a visual representation that talks to them and makes them connect to your brand. Don’t rely solely on your judgment. Present the logo in different contexts and get opinions from others.

Simplicity is the key. The best logos are simple, memorable, and easily recognizable in any format, size, and application.

Collaboration. Both clients and designers must collaborate to create a logo that represents your brand and resonates with your audience.

Adam: Our advice for anyone starting a brand or rebranding and working with a design company is to have a clear understanding of your products, your intended customers, and what makes you unique. It’s also very helpful to not come with an agenda but rather be open-minded and allow this company you’re paying good money to do what they do best. In almost every scenario that will make the end product better and make you more money.

Just the fact that we’re here to make sure your packaging journey is everything you need. Our customer service reps can’t wait to chat (maybe one of them already emailed you – they’re really good about that).

The design UI is already a seamless part of our free quote tool; start a new gusseted bag or tin can quote to give it a spin. Have fun, let us know if we can help, and we’ll see you again soon in part 3!