Sam Mitchell

FE Graphic Design student interested in pushing the boundaries of colour, design and type; contextualising the branding of new and existing products.

I want to introduce you to WAAQA.  The coffee for the future.  WAAQA is the sky god of Ethiopia where coffee was first discovered by a goat farmer in the mountains of East Africa in the 9th century.

I aimed to develop a new coffee brand,  one that would stand out in the current saturated market.  I wanted it to be green and be underpinned by a philosophy of helping those people and areas who produce the coffee to get the benefit rather than multinational companies reaping the rewards and the profits for themselves.

WAAQA is a name linked with the history and traditions of Coffee in East Africa.  I wanted to use the colours and the images of tribal and modern East Africa to create unique designs and ensure that the packaging and the advertising told a story to potential consumers.

I intertwined this with slogans and captions to make potential consumers think, to make the product memorable, talked about, and to create an intrigue to result in two things; firstly people being drawn to the coffee and buying it and secondly to get people to understand the importance of products such as coffee being ‘green’.