Otis Coffee

Half Design (Creative Director)
overview
When Otis approached us, they were called Proper Coffee & Cocktails. Proper was locally perceived as "stuffy" or "fancy" because of its name and stark interior.

We found inspiration for a new name in Otis D. Bailey—the grandfather of the owner. Otis was a man who spent his life in Conway, AR making things slowly and deliberately by hand; this became the theme for the identity of the shop: Hand-crafted, slow, deliberate, nostalgic, tinkery.
My Contributions
Strategy, Identity, Creative Direction, Photography, Packaging, Art Direction, Interior Design, Boutique Printing
Strategy
Apr 2014 - Mar 2015
We decided early-on that Otis was going to consistently reference 'mid-century' and 'garage' in its visual language. This was an intentional decision to make the shop feel more welcoming, warm, and nostalgic.

Rather than creating one single mark, Otis has two primary marks. A tacky 50s sign and a signature. The sign logo is used in most of the places you would traditionally use the logo, the signature logo is present (with the date the shop was created) to "sign off" on the quality, much like Otis would sign and date things that he made in his shop.

In the interior of the shop, details like signs and "wallpaper" that would normally be printed are instead hand-painted. This adds another layer of humanity and warmth to the shop. Over 10,000 diamonds were painted on these walls by hand to create the wallpaper effect.

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