Back to projects

Case Study

Harbor & Co.

Conceptual Brand Design & Experience

Completed

January 2026

Tools

Illustrator Photoshop

Project Overview

Harbor & Co. is an independent coffee and wine bar opening in a converted harbour-side warehouse. The space operates as a café during the day and transitions into a relaxed wine bar in the evening. The founders want a brand identity that feels quietly confident, considered, and timeless, avoiding anything overly trendy or decorative. The brand should appeal to a design-aware audience without feeling exclusive or pretentious. The identity must feel at home both on a printed wine list and in a minimal digital environment.

Below you can view the full case study.

Full Case Study

Client
Harbour & Co

Industry
Independent specialty coffee & wine bar

Location
Coastal European city (port town / old harbour district)

Overview

Harbor & Co. is a conceptual identity project for a harbour-side coffee and wine bar operating as a café by day and a wine bar by night. The brief was to explore how restraint, typography, and spacing could be used to create an identity that feels established without being overly expressive or decorative. The resulting system is editorial in tone, using warm neutral colours, clear hierarchy, and structured layouts to reflect the atmosphere of a quiet coastal port town.

Objectives

Create a cohesive brand identity for launch
Establish a strong typographic-led system
Balance warmth with restraint
Ensure the identity works across print and digital
Create a brand that can scale over time

Target Audience

25–45 year olds
Design-conscious professionals
Locals and visitors who value quality & atmosphere
Customers who appreciate independent brands
People drawn to calm, well-considered spaces

Brand Personality

Quiet
Confident
Thoughtful
Refined
Human
Timeless

Brand Positioning

Harbor & Co. sits between traditional cafe culture and contemporary wine bars. It is not loud, ironic, or playful. The brand should feel established from day one, as if it has always existed in this location.

Scope of Work

You are commissioned to design a core brand identity system, including:

Logo / wordmark
Typography system
Colour palette
Layout and grid system
Basic tone of voice guidelines
Brand applications:

Website landing page
Menu (day / evening)
Social media layout system

Deliverables

Final logo / wordmark
Defined typographic hierarchy
Colour palette with usage guidance
Layout rules and grid examples
2-3 brand applications
Portfolio-ready case study

Constraints

Typography-led identity
Limited colour palette
No illustration-heavy branding
Focus on clarity, spacing, and hierarchy
Identity must work well in print

Success Criteria

The brand feels calm and confident
Typography and layout do most of the work
The system feels flexible but consistent
Applications feel cohesive across touchpoints
The identity feels appropriate for a physical space

Timeline

1 week from project start to final delivery

Notes from Client

"We don't want something that feels designed for Instagram first. It should feel good in the space, in print, and in use."

Design Intent

The venue is a space where thoughtful conversation naturally takes place, and the brand should reflect that atmosphere. The identity should be minimal and restrained without feeling cold or empty. Typography will play a central role, supported by generous negative space and a calm, editorial rhythm.

Rather than competing for attention, the brand is quietly self-assured. It does not call out to passersby, but instead invites curiosity. The kind of place someone notices in passing and thinks, "That looks considered. Let's step inside."

Core Concept

A brand system inspired by its origin, a harbour-side warehouse, well structured and established. The identity balances clarity and order with warmth and familiarity, creating a sense of permanence and quiet comfort.

Layout & Spacing Approach

Layouts should feel calm and deliberate, using generous margins to give content space to breathe. Content is intentionally minimal and carefully placed, guiding the viewer's attention without distraction. Spacing is used to create clarity and rhythm, ensuring layouts feel composed rather than crowded or overwhelming.

Colour Philosophy

The colour palette is warm and neutral, drawing from soft oranges and muted browns to create a sense of comfort and familiarity. Saturated colours are deliberately avoided in favour of restraint and subtlety. Cooler hues such as greens and blues are excluded, ensuring the palette remains calm, balanced, and free from cold or overly organic associations.

Tone & Voice

Communication is direct and clear, favouring intent over promotion. Language is calm and considered, helping customers feel informed and comfortable without feeling patronised or overwhelmed.

Brand Positioning

The brand is intentionally understated - structured, consistent, and self-assured. It avoids visual noise and promotional urgency, presenting a venue that feels established and quietly in demand rather than attention-seeking.

Design Principles

Restraint over expression - Design only what is necessary.
Clear hierarchy - Structure always leads the eye.
Systematic grids - Consistency through structure.
Generous white space - Space is an active element.

Typography Direction

Typography should feel clean, intentional, and quietly confident, avoiding over-designed or decorative treatments. Letterforms should have generous spacing, allowing the typography to breathe and feel composed. Lighter font weights are preferred, creating a balanced, refined system that supports hierarchy without visual heaviness.

Application Mindset

The identity is designed primarily for print and physical formats. While not entirely print-focused, selected digital applications support social content where appropriate. Scale and legibility are prioritised over animation and visual effects.

Success Measures

If the brand feels confident without explanation, it is successful
If the brand feels refined without appearing pretentious, it is successful
If the brand remains legible while visually engaging, it is successful

Typography

Piropo

Handwritten typography gives off a comforting familiar vibe
Paired with legible sans serif can produce an appealing design based on the contrasting types.

Cantina

Rustic, grainy and handwritten type is casual - not trying too hard.
Again paired with a simple sans serif is effective for being familiar but also practical.

Layout & Grid

Danse Cafe

Majority of page is negative space giving the menu room to breath.
The headers taking up 1/2 of the page makes it very clear to see what section is what.

Arts & Crafts

Interesting pattern to make a maze type design on the menu.
Embossed so that it doesn't add to the existing colour palette.
Menu follows same maze/grid like structure adding interest to the design.

Colour

Hi Coffee

Minimal colour palette works well because none of the colours are fighting for attention.
Two warm colours with high contrast could work on their own.

Fuegos

Great colours, muted, rustic and warm.
Provides comfort whilst also having enough contrast to be legible.

Hierarchy & Spacing

Avrile

Hierarchy on the left menu is perfect. You read everything in the order you are suppose to.
The right menu has too much going on, too many things fighting for attention.

Sixty Vines

Lots of vertical spacing between content, almost an exaggerated amount providing room for content to breath.
Good use of font weight combined with font size to guide reader.

Results

White space is used as structure, not design.
Colours are muted but also highly contrasted to maintain legibility.
Headings are understated without being lost in the design, this keeps a minimal look.
Handwritten/rustic typography matches very well with simple sans serif.
Provide lots of vertical spacing. This gives content room to breathe.

Do's & Don'ts

Don't add unnecessary designs. This will clutter and create a busy overall design.
Do add plenty of negative space. The majority of the design should be intentionally minimal.
Don't use more than three colours. The design shouldn't be shouting for attention.
Do use fairly large gaps in-between letters. This shows the reader you are not trying to overload them with information.

Brand Positioning

The visual direction is warm, restrained, and quietly confident. Typography combines rustic, handwritten styles with a simple sans serif to create a sense of familiarity while remaining highly legible and practical. Layouts prioritise negative space, using white space as a structural tool rather than decoration, allowing content to breathe and remain clear. Hierarchy is intentional and calm, guiding the reader naturally without competing elements. Colour palettes are minimal and muted, relying on contrast rather than vibrancy to maintain readability. Overall, the system avoids unnecessary embellishment, favouring clarity, comfort, and considered simplicity.

This section documents the exploratory phase of the Harbor & Co. identity, outlining how key visual decisions were tested, evaluated, and refined.

Typography exploration focused on legibility, hierarchy, and long term usability. A range of typefaces was assessed against clarity, tone, and restraint, ensuring the final selection supports a calm reading experience and functions reliably across both print and digital applications.

Logomark development progressed from loose, expressive sketches into a more structured and scalable system. Emphasis was placed on proportion, balance, and consistency, allowing the mark to remain confident and recognisable across a variety of contexts and sizes.

Colour palettes were explored across a range of warm, restrained tones and tested using contrast checking tools to ensure sufficient accessibility and legibility. This process helped balance visual warmth with clarity, ensuring the palette supports usability without becoming decorative or trend-led.

These explorations informed the final direction of the brand and established a solid foundation for the complete visual system presented in the following section.