Food & Beverage · Concept case study
Giving a fermentation-forward café a face.
Kombu Café had a name, a menu built around kombucha and fermented ingredients, and a location — but nothing to put on a cup, a sign, or a receipt when it opened.
Kombu Café
Fermented, brewed, local
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Illustrative UI concept — built to show the product direction, not a live application.
The problem
A great menu with nothing to carry it.
Without a visual identity, Kombu had no way to signal what made it different before a customer even walked in — the signage, the cups, and the menu board all needed to say "fermentation-forward" at a glance, consistently, from day one.
The approach
An identity built around the brew, not a generic café look.
- A logo mark referencing the SCOBY culture at the center of their process
- Business cards and a takeout cup treatment using the same mark
- A brand guideline covering color, type, spacing, and logo misuse
- A set of custom illustrations for the menu board and packaging
Impact
What changed once the identity was in place.
1 systemOne visual identity, consistent from the storefront sign to the takeout cup.
Day 1Kombu opened with a finished identity instead of a placeholder logo.
ReusableNew menu items and seasonal packaging now follow the same guideline.