Key takeaways
- Coffee packaging illustration starts with a conversation and a mood board, not artwork, so the client’s identity leads the visuals rather than following them.
- Recurring characters in coffee packaging illustration turn each release into a chapter, giving customers a reason to return that tasting notes alone cannot provide.
- Authenticity sells: real artwork, a coffee packaging illustration designer whose style you already love, and a story drawn from the brand’s own roots.
Coffee packaging illustration has become one of the most powerful tools a roaster has for communicating its identity. Long before customers taste the coffee, they engage with the packaging. They form impressions about quality, personality and values in a matter of seconds. In an increasingly crowded specialty coffee market, standing out requires more than attractive graphics. It requires a story.
For designer and illustrator Tom Moore, that story became the foundation for his coffee packaging illustration work with Character Coffee Co. Drawing on his experience in the craft beer industry, Tom helped create a packaging system centred on original characters and ongoing narratives.
The result is a visual identity that extends far beyond a logo. The packaging catches attention on the shelf, then invites customers into a world that unfolds with every new release. We chatted with Tom to understand how illustration shapes a coffee brand. Read on for his insights.
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Mood boards before masterpieces: how a project comes together
A coffee packaging illustration project starts with a conversation about the client’s goals, then moves through mood boards before any artwork begins.
Every designer has their own process. For Tom, successful packaging always starts with understanding what the client wants to achieve.
Although Character Coffee Co. was his first coffee packaging illustration project, his approach stayed consistent with the process he uses across other industries.
“The client approached me as they were looking for something similar to the work I had done in the craft beer industry,” he explains. “I handled their work the same way I do with any client: start with a conversation about what they’re looking to achieve before putting together some mood boards.”
The mood board stage proves crucial because it establishes visual direction early. Rather than immediately producing finished concepts, Tom uses mood boards to explore different styles, themes and references. Clients can then react to visual ideas before the designer invests significant time in development.
“They let me know what they like and dislike from the mood boards, and then I start initial design ideas based on their comments,” says Tom. “I aim to work up three or four different design options for them, and then we pick a route that we feel works best, and I develop it into the final design.”
Coffee packaging illustration comes with its own expectations around origin stories, tasting notes and specialty credentials. Even so, Tom believes the fundamentals of good design remain the same across categories. Whether the product is coffee, beer or something else entirely, the goal stays constant. A visual identity has to feel authentic to the brand and resonate with its audience.
The most successful coffee packaging illustration projects happen when clients understand who they are and what they want to communicate. Coffee packaging illustration then becomes a vehicle for bringing that identity to life.
A bear, a chameleon, and a story with no last page
Effective coffee packaging illustration gives customers a reason to remember the brand, and for Tom, that difference comes down to storytelling.
Attractive packaging can catch a customer’s eye. When he began working with Character Coffee Co., he and founder Harry spent time analysing the visual landscape of specialty coffee. They quickly noticed recurring themes across many brands.
“When I worked with Character Coffee Co., we looked at a lot of the existing brands, and we felt there were common themes in the coffee packaging illustration styles,” Tom says. “Many of them had the ‘supply co.’ look β brown paper packaging with blocks of colour and a stamped logo.”
This aesthetic has become familiar within specialty coffee. Tom and Harry saw an opportunity to create something more distinctive. They retained some category conventions through typography and branding, then introduced a much stronger narrative element through illustration.
“We used some of that with the logo design and typography, but for the artwork, the founder, Harry wanted to lean into the craft beer aesthetic and do something that told a story through the visuals.”
That story became the defining feature of the brand. Together, they created Lord Warwick, a bear explorer who travels the world in search of the perfect cup of coffee. His nemesis is a mischievous chameleon, determined to disrupt his adventures.
“We ended up creating two unique characters: Lord Warwick, a bear explorer who travels the world in search of the perfect cup of coffee, and his nemesis, a chameleon who is looking to foil Warwick at every turn,” Tom explains.
Rather than treating each coffee release as a standalone design, the characters create continuity across the range. Every new product becomes another chapter in an evolving story.
“The idea is that the story will unfold across the different products, with each new bag showing a different battle between these two foes.”
This narrative approach gives customers something to engage with beyond tasting notes and preparation guidance. It creates personality, encourages repeat interaction, and helps the brand stand apart. Many products in the category make similar quality claims.
For roasters competing for attention online and on retail shelves, packaging that creates an emotional connection matters as much as packaging that communicates information.
Real artwork, real people: what roasters should know
Roasters should start with authenticity, choose real artwork over generated imagery, and pick a designer whose natural style they already love.
Many businesses approach packaging as a visual exercise. They focus on trends or aesthetics before defining what makes their brand unique. The strongest coffee packaging illustration projects start with a meaningful story or identity that translates into design.
“I’d say customers have more confidence in a brand that uses real artwork”, says Tom. “If you’re saying ‘buy this coffee because we care about our product and you should too’, then that’s easier to get behind if the producer has invested as much care in the outside of the pack as the inside.”
This emphasis on craftsmanship mirrors the values many specialty coffee brands already communicate through sourcing, roasting and customer education. Packaging becomes another expression of that same commitment to quality.
Tom also encourages roasters to choose designers whose natural style genuinely appeals to them. Forcing a designer into a direction that does not suit their strengths rarely works. “I’d say work with a designer to find an identity that you care about.”
For Character Coffee Co., that identity emerged from Harry’s personal connection to Warwickshire. Rather than creating a mascot at random, the team looked to local symbolism for inspiration.
“With Character Coffee, Harry is from Warwickshire, and the flag of Warwickshire has a bear on it, so that’s how we found our first character.”
This type of personal connection gives packaging an authenticity that customers can sense. It feels genuine because it comes from the brand’s own story rather than from market trends or generic templates.
Packaging is often the first interaction customers have with a coffee brand. Before they taste the coffee, visit the website, or learn about the producer, they see the bag.
“It’s the first thing that the customer sees,” Tom notes.
Great coffee packaging illustration should therefore do more than look attractive. It should tell a story, create recognition, and give customers a reason to remember the brand long after the last cup.
Once a roaster finalises a packaging concept, execution becomes just as important as the design itself. MTPak Coffee helps roasters transform creative ideas into premium packaging with low minimum order quantities from 200 units, fast turnaround times, sustainable material options, and full customisation.
Whether your brand relies on bold illustration, character-driven storytelling, or minimalist design, the right packaging partner ensures every detail is reproduced exactly as intended. Contact us to get started.
FAQs
How does a coffee packaging illustration project begin?
With a conversation about what the client wants to achieve, followed by mood boards. Only then does the designer develop three or four concepts before refining the chosen route into a final design.
What makes packaging memorable rather than just attractive?
Storytelling. Recurring characters turn each release into a chapter in a continuing narrative, giving customers a reason to engage beyond tasting notes.
What should roasters prioritise before commissioning a designer?
Authenticity. Start with a story rooted in the brand’s own roots, choose real artwork over generated imagery, and work with a designer whose natural style already appeals to you.
