An umbrella brand for small coffee producers from Minas Gerais
Miragem is a coffee club and an umbrella brand identity for small producers from the interior of Minas Gerais, Brazil, a project initiated by Guia do Café São Paulo. I did the art direction, the identity design and the illustration.
Coffee and me
Coffee is part of where I come from.
Brazil grows roughly a third of the world's coffee, and Minas Gerais, home of Miragem's producers, grows about half of the Brazilian crop. Coffee is also where the story of Japanese Brazilians begins: the first ship of immigrants, the Kasato Maru, reached Santos in 1908 with about 780 workers for coffee farms in the state of São Paulo, many of them from Okinawa. I am a fourth-generation Japanese Brazilian, and Okinawan culture is part of where I come from.
I have gone to the São Paulo Coffee Festival every year. It celebrates the coffee scene of the biggest city in Latin America: tastings from the city's cafés and micro-roasters, workshops, live latte art and a roastery on site.
Photos: São Paulo Coffee Festival. Visit the site
Overview
Small producers made excellent coffee, but could not stand out in the city.
Miragem was a project initiated by Guia do Café São Paulo, as a way of empowering small coffee producers from Minas Gerais, Brazil. The producers faced significant challenges entering urban markets, primarily because they lacked a cohesive brand identity. Known for their high-quality, artisanal coffee, they struggled to distinguish themselves in a market dominated by well-established brands.
The challenge
One umbrella brand that city consumers connect with, and that stays true to its roots.
The primary challenge was to develop an umbrella brand identity that resonated with urban consumers' values while staying true to the roots of the Minas Gerais coffee culture. The brand needed to convey the quality, tradition and community spirit of the small producers in a way that was both authentic and appealing to a city and online audience.
Process
We started by listening to the producers.
After gathering insights and inspirations from our visits, we organized workshops with some of the producers. The aim was to uncover their needs, values and visions for the future together. The workshops revealed the deep connection between the land, the people and their coffee. The stories of generational farming, community support and the artisanal approach to coffee production became the cornerstone of our work.
The brand
A coffee club named Miragem, the Portuguese word for mirage.
The brand captures the essence of Minas Gerais coffee culture. Its elements combine to represent the coffee plant and the warmth of the community, chosen to reflect the product's organic and artisanal qualities. It focuses on sustainability and adapts easily to different materials and packaging, bridging the gap between local artisans and urban consumers.
Photoshoot
The identity on tape, a cup, a bag and a tin.
