A bit of Brown Sugar to brighten your day

Last night I returned from a five-day trip to Sydney, it was AWESOME! After battling the motorway system in the city and catching up with friends (I have more in Sydney than Auckland), I cruised to Wollongong to meet Lucy, dream-client, and owner of Brown Sugar Espresso Bar.

A mutual friend put Lucy in touch with me (thanks, Cat-Dawg). Lucy contacted me for a quote and the relationship quickly blossomed. Lucy showed me a picture of the 1930's style building where she was to set up shop and the branding process flowed from there. From day one I have been excited by this project and the excitement continues to grow.

I presented Lucy a range of logo concepts. She chose one which resonated with her business-to-be. I further developed and refined the concept to get it to where it is today. We worked together to create a branding board and I made some suggestions for colours, fonts, and pattern which thankfully, Lucy loved as much as I did. After the logo came business cards, loyalty cards, and the website. Lucy loved the geometric pattern I used throughout her collateral so much she decided to have it made into a wallpaper for the cafe. My excitement levels went through the roof, I have always been a sucker for wallpaper.

On Friday I met Lucy for the first time. I arrived at the cafe and didn't leave for about 5 hours. Lucy is exactly how I imagined (the friendship/client lines have been blurry since day dot). I was kept caffeinated by Lucy and her sparkly team-member Sadie. I spent all day chatting and taking photos to share with you (134 to be exact). I was able to try the coffee and sweet treats I had been drooling over (on Instagram) and they tasted better than they look. Brown Sugar Espresso Bar like to support other local businesses. I tried some treats by Anastasia's Vegan Cupcakes and It's Homebaked and they both sure know their sh*t when it comes to making delectable goodies.

It was rewarding to see the designs I did for Lucy in their rightful context. It's one thing to create designs but another for a client to take them and integrate them seamlessly into an environment that just, works. I admire Lucy for her vision and execution of that vision. Not long ago Brown Sugar Espresso Bar was merely an idea in her noggin'. Now it's a beautiful, thriving hang out for locals, and they love it (I got chatting to many)!

If you're around Wollongong, a stop at Brown Sugar Espresso Bar is well worth it. Find them on Facebook here. If you're looking to start up a business and need help with your vision, or making your vision a reality, please get in contact with me (flick me an email at contact@designbycheyney.com). I would love to help. Enough words already, here are the visuals.