Dark Arts coffee roasters launches evolved identity
The coffee brand’s packaging and visual identity by Not Wieden+Kennedy takes its occult-inspired origins in a new direction
Founded in 2014, London-based coffee roasters Dark Arts has always dabbled with countercultural ideas, using motifs ranging from biker communities to heavy music to occultism. Meanwhile its meme-centric approach to social media has helped it establish a strong, irreverent tone of voice that bolstered its D2C model.
However, as Dark Arts approached its 10th anniversary, the brand decided it was time to evolve its look and feel, particularly as it was eyeing up new audiences and international expansion.
“As the brand voice had shifted over the years, it didn’t reflect who they were anymore,” says Justin Hallström, creative director at Not Wieden+Kennedy, which led the new redesign of Dark Arts’ packaging and identity.
The agency developed an approach that moved it away from relying so heavily on occult-inspired motifs but which also sought to retain the personality that had become so beloved by its core fan base.
The new identity has been designed around the concept of ‘joyful nihilism’, embodied by its cracked smiley face logo, tone of voice, and occasional doom-laden imagery.
Each coffee type has been given its own design which appears as a collectible card that slots into the box. So far there are 50 designs, which the brand will build on in the future. Not only does the collectible card approach create audience engagement, it also offers a modular framework that can adapt to the brand’s rotating roster of more than 100 coffee varieties a year.
“The windowed approach became the natural solution, allowing them to build equity through the black framed box, whilst allowing them to produce individual artworks for all their coffees to come. On top of that, it also opens up the space for collaborations, letting brands and artists alike create bespoke artworks,” says Hallström.
The card format also conjures ideas of tarot and oracle cards, as do the thick linocut-style icons indicating each coffee’s country of origin, which have a traditional, handmade feel. Together, these details reinforce the links with the occult cues that the brand has long been inspired by while taking it into a new, cohesive direction.
