Brand Identity -

From Panda

To Colors

How do you make a non fluffy, modern panda that looks cool and represents a coffee roasting company ethos?

Black & White Coffee Roasters

Process

I knew from much research that most “panda” icons took on the full body of the panda, like the World Wildlife Conservation logo. Other panda icons made the panda more fierce. For this panda, Black & White wanted one that was approachable, modern and fit into the general aesthetic of the already designed icons.
My mother loves crafts, specifically Origami (the art of paper folding). I was stumped on how to create the panda until my boss showed me a fox icon that reminded me of my mother’s origami fox face she had just made my nephew.
I drew on the concept of folded squares and triangles to take the shape of the panda face.
Designing a balanced geometric panda face was very hard. I had to make sure everything was aligned and symmetrical. In the end I had to think of this as puzzle pieces I was building. Take the complex and simplify it.

There were some already established logos and icons being used by the brand before the development of the “panda” logo.

The Ampersand | designed by creative team in Seattle, “Sea Monster.” This icon was to reflect a pour over kettle with a handle.

The B & W | The “&” took on the new one and the “B” and “W” used the original font, Raleway. The design team at Sea Monster was having a hard time creating balance with these three items. I had the honor of working with them to make a custom “W” using 2 “V”s from Raleway.