Elle Café – the new coffee brand from style icon ELLE Magazine

As part of its continued evolution into a global lifestyle brand, ELLE, the biggest-selling fashion magazine & authority on style, was looking to create its own coffee brand that could compete with the likes of Illy and Nespresso.

For a new-to-market coffee brand in an incredibly crowded category, instant brand recognition was essential, so our creative idea was consciously rooted in an editorial, fashion & lifestyle magazine aesthetic, with ELLE’s iconic wordmark at its heart.

Discovering an ownable pattern from the ELLE archives that was based on an abstracted take on the wordmark, we refreshed it through a series of contemporary colourways that aid range navigation and are flexible enough to use across all comms and POS material.

This was balanced with the all-important ‘Café’ through a condensed sans serif, craft typeface, meticulous consideration of negative space and subtle key line detailing inspired by the characteristic flat serifs of the ELLE letterforms. Large panels of fresh off-white create space for a strong grid arrangement of key product information – bold roast numbers bring small batch coffee cues, whilst hand-written names add a touch of French ‘joie de vivre’.

The result is a brand identity and packaging that balances ELLE’s playfully chic brand attitude with crafted, quality coffee cues, to capture consumers’ eyes in the department stores and boutique hotels & cafes it has successfully launched in.

Client Quote:

“Butterfly Cannon’s experience in creating iconic, cultural relevant aspirational brands was key in our decision to partner with them on this unique project. I’m pleased to say they did not disappoint – the brand and packaging designs they created for the range of ELLE Café coffees, have the perfect blend of ELLE’s playfully chic character with quality coffee credentials we needed.”

Tal Halabi, Owner ICU Production & Founder, ELLE Café

Curator’s Insight: The brand identity and packaging are stunning: they use the iconic ELLE wordmark cleverly and a refreshing pattern inspired by it. With vibrant and eye-catching colourways and elegant and modern typography, they have incorporated elements of fashion and lifestyle magazine design into the coffee brand. This creates a unique and aspirational look that appeals to both coffee lovers and ELLE fans. The packaging also communicates the quality and craft of the coffee, with clear roast numbers, hand-written names and a simple grid layout. The brand has successfully launched in department stores and boutique hotels & cafes, where it matches the chic and playful vibe of ELLE.