Project Café Agueda
A heartfelt design project born from a family coffee ritual, turned into a playful yet meaningful tribute to my grandma.
Personal · June of 2018
Introduction
This project started in the summer of 2018, as a bit of a joke between my cousin and me. Our grandma always invited us over for coffee — it was her thing — and one day, while sipping yet another cup with her, we started laughing about the idea of creating a brand just for her.
What began as a playful thought turned into something more meaningful. We decided to design it as a gift, inspired by those cozy, familiar moments around the table — a routine that brings our whole family together.
I never expected the final result to turn out so polished, but it became one of those rare projects that I genuinely care about. It’s not just the professional finish that I’m proud of — it’s the emotional part, too.
This brand is a small tribute to our grandma, and to all the laughter, warmth, and countless cups of coffee that have kept our family close.
Design
The first decisions came easily. I wanted to draw inspiration from established coffee brands, so choosing brown as the main color felt like a natural starting point.
Another obvious element was the coffee bean itself — I wanted to include it somehow. Since the word for coffee in Spanish includes a comma, I came up with the idea of using a coffee bean to represent that comma. It felt like a small but clever touch that connected the theme and the language.
The initial design attempts didn’t quite work. They were too complex, with too many shades of brown fighting for attention. But the coffee bean icon and the font choice stood out, so I kept those elements and refined the rest.
So, I began working on the perfect coffee bean design. It needed to be simple, recognizable, and — most importantly — reusable.
I experimented by sketching and copying the shapes of various beans until I found the right one. Once I was happy with the design, I created a pattern using that bean to see how it worked in practice.
Now that I had the perfect bean shape, I wanted to make it a central element of the logo. I revisited my first iteration and merged that early concept with the new bean design. That process led to the final version of the logo.
Compared to the initial version, this one uses a single color. It's much more adaptable at different sizes, without losing legibility. Even without the text, the symbol alone carries the identity — and that felt like a win.
Luckily, the final version works so well that the text can be removed and the brand identity still remains strong.
Application
With the core parts of the brand defined, it was time to apply them to something tangible. I decided to start with a small menu — something simple, but meaningful.
The first step was defining the color palette. I wanted tones that reflected the warmth and richness of coffee, so I chose a range of browns. They felt natural, familiar, and rooted in the original idea.
Then I created a small menu using the logo and the pattern designed previously. I applied the colours from the palette resulting on the following.
Finally I made a small animation as an advertisement of the brand using all the elements mentioned above.
Conclusion
Café Agueda began as a playful idea but evolved into a deeply personal design journey. It allowed me to explore branding not just as a visual exercise, but as a way to honor family, memory, and emotion.
The final result is more than a logo or a menu — it’s a tribute to my grandma and the warmth she brought to our lives through something as simple as coffee. This project reminded me that design can be intimate, and that the best ideas often come from the heart.