Abharan Yadavalli

DARK STAR ESPRESSO

Dark Star Espresso

Brand Strategy

Creative Direction

Visual Design

Packaging

Custom Art

Dark Star Espresso - is a sister brand to The Tufted Puffin (my previous case study). In it's initial baby stage - the cafe brand had an Identity crisis. Should it be Tufted Cafe? Should it follow the same branding as Tufted? and many more questions.

The fruitful 1.5 year expansion and growth of Tufted Puffin resulted in me being the brand strategist for this cafe brand from zero. With the birth of Dark Star Espresso - I was tasked with the end-to-end creative direction and strategy.

I’ve crafted a 'fresh yet cozy-retro' brand experience. 2 drive-thrus are operational and the first cafe location's, grand opening is happening soon in March 2026!

Dark Star Espresso

BRAND DEVELOPMENT

After initial discovery sessions and competitive analysis - we came up with the personality of the brand to anchor our decisions.

Inspiration arrived from retro groovy/soul music. The vision was to create a coffee brand & physical establishments that are cozy, retro yet fresh with a softer aesthetic.

Brand Personality

Branding Strategy Map

Audience

The "Everyman"

Personality

Coffee & treats

Groovy

Fun, Casual

Down-to-earth

Approachable

Cozy retreat

Community

Playful nostalgia

Locals & travellers seeking culture, community and comfy 3rd spaces

Variety of beverages & confectionaries

Moodboards

We liked cozy colors

And curves for the cozy feeling

Approachable aesthetics

Brand Identity

VISUAL LANGUAGE

With the business groundwork done and strategy planned, it was time to develop the brand assets for Dark Star Espresso!

With a time crunch, I had to move quickly to strategize and design the visual identity.

Quick options to decide direction

Liked the basic direction of option 1 - Curvy, welcoming.

Needs refinements next

Time crunch!

REAL WORLD CONSTRAINTS

Usually I would not rush into refining the logo before getting the colors & mockups done and approved.

But often there are unforeseen constraints and this is where our 1.5 year partnership of building Tufted Puffin came into play.

Respecting the constraints, I was able to map out colors, patterns, aesthetics and illustrations in an unpolished manner to discuss with the client - who understood the vision and we proceeded.