Saigon Drip

Art direction—Visual Identity—Packaging Design

Robusta coffee beans were seen as somehow inferior to Arabica.
Saigon Drip wanted to change that perception. They needed an identity to help people discover Vietnamese coffee. Looking to be authentic—”not pedestrian”, as their co-founder Mary puts it. The result was a bold identity that helps move robusta beans forward by being authentically true to itself.

The launch of Saigon Drip was the realization of a multi-year long dream for two co-founders who found my work through a referral.

A re-imagining of Vietnamese coffee, Saigon Drip was created from a vision of roasting Independently-farmed Vietnamese robusta beans to show the Arabica bean-thinking roasters that Robusta deserves a seat at the table of respected bean roasting styles.

Robusta beans are higher in caffeine and generally stronger in flavour than it’s lower-caffeine sibling, Arabica.

Both owners, Mary and Sang, wanted a bold, streetwear-inspired brand for the product as the launch was nearing. I sat down with both of them over multiple meetings to understand their goals for the brand, the process from farming to the perfect cup of cà phê đá (traditional coffee made using a phin drip filter).

I wanted to Saigon Drip to be able to tell a unique story that was authentically and proudly Vietnamese. To do so, we delved into folk art and history to start finding unique visual cues that could be translated to modern packaging.

In the end, the client was incredibly happy with the initial concepts and chose one consisting of block print typography harkening back to folk art made by the rural farming communities that make up the backbone of Vietnam’s workforce. Patterns were pulled from ancient motifs found on drums and other relics to create a bold, timeless visual brand that can create a solid foundation for the company for years to come.