Pocket Coffee | Brand Strategy & Design by Cara Dunning

POCKET COFFEE / SELF-INITIATED BRAND CONCEPT

Fits
right in.

Keep good coffee close.

CONCEPT, STRATEGY & ALL CREATIVE, CARA DUNNING

Pocket Coffee — cups, bags and packaging

01 / A SMALL IDEA. A WHOLE WORLD.

It started
with a pouch.

I gave my direct reports a creative exercise: choose a random theme for a coffee shop, then build a brand around it. I chose marsupials. Their pouches felt like a perfect metaphor for a café: a little pocket to eat, drink and recharge before facing the world.

Then I kept going. Pocket Coffee became an end-to-end exploration of how a brand can feel distinctive, welcoming and commercially considered, without losing its soul.

MY ROLE / CONCEPT THROUGH EXECUTION

Brand strategy · Naming · Visual identity · Illustration · Photography · Copywriting · Experience design

Self-initiated concept. All spaces, products and operational ideas shown are proposed, not a launched business.

02 / THE STRATEGIC IDEA

People don’t want to be served.
They want to be seen.

Drinks are the Hook.

Personality-led signature drinks create a reason to cross town. Premium ingredients, unexpected flavors and a character you recognize yourself in.

Community is the Soul.

Great everyday coffee and genuine warmth give people a reason to return. A place for the regular and the curious newcomer.

Speed keeps it Alive.

A proposed service model pairs café craft with chain-level convenience, while merchandise and beans take the brand beyond the counter.

FIND YOUR POCKET PERSONALITY

YOUR COFFEE. YOUR CHARACTER.

The Quokka

Just happy to be here

Hover or tap a character

03 / ORIGINAL ILLUSTRATION & SIGNATURE DRINKS

Which one are you?

Four marsupials. Four personalities. Four reasons to make the brand your own. I drew a cast that could live on a cup, become a favorite drink, and leave the shop on a T-shirt.

01 / ROO

Charming liability.

The highly caffeinated friend who brings a little chaos and a lot of fun. A red-eye-inspired signature for the lovable mess.

02 / WOMBAT

Hard to knock over.

The steady one. The list-maker. The friend who always shows up. An earthy latte concept with a grounded personality.

03 / POSSUM

Discerning night creature.

For the designer who is up all night, knew about everything before it was cool, and will tell you the truth. A dirty chai with a curious edge.

04 / QUOKKA

Oh, hey!

Always glad you’re here. A ceremonial matcha concept with the open-hearted optimism of the friend who sees the best in everyone.

04 / NAMING & VISUAL IDENTITY

A little discovery.
A lot of personality.

The hand-drawn wordmark hides a kangaroo in its negative space. Expressive lettering, saturated blue, warm orange-coral and cream give the system a graphic foundation. The illustrations supply the character.

The visuals invite you in.
The voice rewards you for staying.

POCKET BLUE

WARM CORAL

WARM PAPER

05 / A BRAND YOU CAN TAKE HOME

Not just a logo.
A whole little world.

A place to belong, and a character to take home. Original illustrations move from the walls to the wardrobe, connecting the shop experience with apparel, packaging and everyday rituals.

What’s in your Pocket — outdoor campaign concept

06 / SOCIAL STRATEGY, PARTICIPATION BY DESIGN

The drink is the hook.
You’re the story.

Pocket Coffee is designed to make shareable moments easy to create, not dependent on a lucky post. A signature drink gives people something to discover. A character gives them something to identify with. Participation gives them a reason to come back.

01 / DISCOVER

“I need to try that.”

An expressive signature drink, an unexpected flavor and a character-led presentation create the first reason to stop scrolling.

02 / IDENTIFY

“That’s so me.”

People see themselves, or their friends, in the Roo, Wombat, Possum or Quokka. A drink becomes a personality, not just an order.

03 / PARTICIPATE

“Make mine next.”

Comments become taste-test ideas. Favorites become seasonal candidates. Customers help shape the next chapter.

A content engine,
not a content calendar.

BARISTA TASTE TESTS

The comments become the brief.

Baristas try drink ideas from the comments and give honest on-camera reactions. The top three become candidates for the quarterly seasonal menu.

COMMENT → TEST → SEASONAL CANDIDATE

IDENTITY MOMENTS

Your drink. Your character. Your people.

Customers show their drink and character merch in a “this is so me” moment. Friends can tag the Roo in their group, or admit they’re the Wombat.

SELF-EXPRESSION → TAGGING → DISCOVERY

The everyday ritual — character cup in hand

MAKER SPOTLIGHTS

Put the community in the frame.

Meet the artists behind the chairs, musicians playing brunch and locals shaping the shop. Let the people who make the place interesting tell the story.

LOCAL MAKERS → REAL STORIES → CONNECTION

Good coffee travels — branded takeaway cups

BRAND POINT OF VIEW

A voice worth coming back for.

Dry humor, coffee opinions and observations from the counter. Smart enough to reward attention; warm enough that nobody needs to get the reference to feel welcome.

RECOGNIZABLE VOICE → REPEAT ATTENTION

One recognizable world.
Plenty of ways in.

Supplied brand concept imagery and social artwork illustrate the proposed strategy. They are not documentation of a launched café or evidence of campaign results.

Give people something to try.
Give them a way to see themselves.
Give them a part in what happens next.

07 / EVERY SPACE HAS A PURPOSE

Make yourself
a little at home.

The Pocket

The main room: built for connection.

Out of Pocket

The patio: tabletop games and a pocket for your phone.

Back Pocket

The work zone: outlets and permission to settle in.

Side Pocket

The walk-up window: a quicker way to get your usual.

Proposed experience: community-painted chairs, warm hospitality without scripts, and room for book clubs, artists and Sunday jams. The brand is designed to make belonging tangible.

08 / THE BRAND ONLINE

Character,
everywhere.

Pocket Coffee — full desktop website concept

WEBSITE CONCEPT / FROM DISCOVERY TO EXPLORATION

An online experience connects menu discovery, character stories and merchandise. The same distinctive voice carries from the café counter to the smallest screen.

Menu discovery, character stories and merchandise connect in one digital experience, giving the curiosity sparked by social content somewhere useful to land.

09 / THE TAKEAWAY

From a random theme
to a complete brand.

Pocket Coffee demonstrates how I think from concept through execution: a strategic point of view expressed through naming, identity, original illustration, photography, copy and a complete customer experience.

Self-initiated brand concept · Strategy through execution

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