Sage Coffee Shop Brand Style Guide Video

The goal of this project was to design and present a brand style guide video for Sage Coffee Shop—a conceptual café brand that invites people to experience coffee as a soulful, mindful ritual. The objective was to visually communicate how a cohesive brand identity can tell a deeper story and build emotional resonance with customers.

Sage Coffee Shop is a mock brand created to showcase my branding and design capabilities. This project was self-initiated to demonstrate how a brand style guide can visually represent a brand’s essence, mood, and mission through design choices like typography, color palette, logo variations, and mood board applications.

The purpose of the project was to develop a complete visual language that communicates the soul of the brand and to bring it to life through a presentation-style video using Canva and AI-powered design support.

The main problem this brand tackles is lack of brand recognition and emotional connection in an oversaturated coffee shop market. Many cafés rely on generic branding, which leads to forgettable customer experiences. This project aimed to show how intentional branding can set a coffee shop apart and make customers feel something before even sipping the coffee.

I began by researching

Current trends in coffee branding

What makes certain coffee shop brands iconic or forgettable

Emotional triggers and sensory design in food & beverage branding

I then used tools like Canva, HubSpot brand resources, and AI-assisted design thinking to develop:

A warm, soulful color palette

A unique typeface with presence (Abril Fatface)

A logo and submark that feel modern yet grounded

A mood board that reflects the café’s ambiance and vibe

These were compiled into a presentation-style video to simulate how a professional brand guide would be shared with a team or client.

I learned how powerful visual storytelling can be in defining a brand's emotional identity. Even in a short video, design elements can instantly convey a vibe, a lifestyle, and a purpose. I also sharpened my ability to connect design intention with brand message and how presentation format plays a key role in making branding feel alive.

Yes—on the next project, I would aim to elevate both the process and the presentation. Specifically:

Use Figma as the core design tool to create a more structured, scalable, and professional brand kit layout. Figma’s components, grids, and collaboration features would help me maintain consistency and work more efficiently.

Refine the presentation format to better simulate a client-ready delivery—focusing on clarity, spacing, and design hierarchy to give the brand identity a more polished and elevated feel.

Integrate brand voice and copywriting directly into the visuals and transitions of the video, ensuring that the brand’s tone speaks as clearly as its visuals.

Include animated logo versions and motion-based identity elements for digital-first platforms like Instagram reels and websites.

Showcase the brand kit in real-world contexts, including a social media preview and product mockups (like coffee cups, loyalty cards, or packaging) to highlight how the design system performs in action.

If this were a real client project, I would also introduce a feedback/revision cycle based on the target audience and brand goals to fine-tune the visuals and messaging.

This was a self-initiated project with no external client, designed purely to showcase my branding, visual design, and storytelling skills. However, it stands as a portfolio piece that can inspire real coffee shop owners or startups who are looking to stand out with meaning and style.