Mame Works
Brand Identity
Packaging
Retail
2026
CLIENT
Mame Works
TIMELINE
Jan–Jun 2026 · 6 months
MY ROLE
Lead Brand Designer
TOOLS USED
Illustrator, InDesign, After Effects, Blender
COLLABORATORS
Mika Endo, Haru Nishimura, Leo Park
01 / OVERVIEW
Project Overview
Mame Works is a Kyoto roaster and neighborhood coffee counter that treats each roast as a carefully made object. Ari created a bright, modular identity inspired by workshop labels, maker’s marks, and the simple geometry of a coffee bean. The system spans bags, cups, menus, signage, seasonal releases, and small retail goods.
Design Brief
The founders wanted specialty coffee to feel precise without becoming technical or intimidating. Ari was asked to create a distinctive identity for a rotating range of beans, give the compact shop a memorable street presence, and establish a packaging system that staff could update for new origins without redesigning every release.
Key insight 01: Customers understood roast character more quickly when it was described through familiar moments and uses rather than specialist tasting language.
Key insight 02: Batch numbers, date stamps, and maker-style notation made the brand feel crafted and transparent without adding visual clutter.
02 / PROCESS
Design Process
Ari built the identity around a sturdy wordmark, a modular bean mark, and a compact grid that behaves like a workshop stamp. Cream, charcoal, cobalt, and a warm red create a practical base with enough energy for a neighborhood coffee brand.
The packaging system uses one shared bag structure with changeable labels for origin, roast, batch, and date. A bold color field distinguishes each roast family, while small technical details reward closer inspection and make seasonal releases easy to produce.
The retail expression extends the system across cups, menus, counter cards, window graphics, totes, and reusable tins. Each object feels useful and direct, allowing Mame Works to appear playful at first glance and carefully engineered up close.
03 / RESULTS
Outcomes
Mame Works opened with a flexible identity that made a rotating coffee range easy to navigate and easy for the team to maintain. The workshop-inspired labeling system gave every release its own character while keeping the shelf and counter visually cohesive.
Reflection
The project showed that craft can feel accessible when precision is paired with warmth. A small set of sturdy elements created a brand that could move naturally from packaging to the café without losing its personality.
