A person's hand reaching out to catch a white bag labeled 'BIG STEP COFFEE' with a blue sticker, in front of a hedge, with green leaves nearby, and a blurred background of a building.

Big Step Coffee

ClIENT:  

Branding + Packaging

ROLE:   

Courtney Hendricks—Packaging
The Power of Friendship—Animation

TEAM:   

Big Step Coffee is an independently owned coffee roasting brand based in San Marcos, CA. The brand’s vision is to inspire vibrant, creative living through thoughtfully crafted and sourced coffee. As the brand matured into a business, it required a lightweight yet distinct identity to establish early recognition.

As the brand expands from the digital world into the retail world, it requires more defined positioning and a refreshed packaging system to support its next phase of growth.

Black background with white text providing a guide: 'BIG STEP COFFEE', in a curved shape.
A coffee bean-shaped cartoon character with a green, oval-shaped body, black hair, and black-and-white eyes walking while holding a steaming mug of coffee with one hand.

Big Step’s identity is intentionally pared back and utilitarian, offset by vibrant hits of color that evoke a sense of life in full color. The name stems from a personal story of Kyle’s son biking over cracks in the sidewalk, taking shape in an unconventional L-shaped wordmark and a secondary retro-inspired coffee bean mascot, Beanie.

Collage of images related to coffee craftsmanship and a person in a white T-shirt with a pocket labeled 'Big Step Coffee' standing on a beach. The collage includes a motivational quote about coffee, a close-up of coffee beans on a conveyor, a person pouring hot water over coffee grounds, and a bag labeled 'Quiet Complexity' from Big Step Coffee.

Big ideas don’t have to feel big. Sometimes they show up as small, expressive moments that grow over time.

Digital graphic showing a website and an Instagram profile page for Big Step Coffee, with a yellow background. The website displays a black background with white text about coffee preparation and a cartoon character holding a coffee cup, along with a photo of coffee bags. The Instagram profile features a grid of posts related to coffee, including an announcement for an event and coffee beans.
Person placing a blue vinyl record titled 'Big Step' onto a turntable.
Person holding up a white T-shirt with a black cartoon character drinking from a mug, against a blue sky background.

The packaging system for flagship and daily coffees uses two-tone color and diffused, abstract photo textures to express variation in origin and tasting notes within a flexible framework—each bag feeling like a small step into trying something new.

Package of La Lomita coffee with a purple label, black and white abstract design, and text indicating smooth, red fruit, black tea flavor.
Four colorful coffee packaging labels with black and white abstract patterns on the right side, each in different colors: orange, blue, purple, and yellow, displaying the brand name 'Big Step Coffee' and the coffee variety 'Sunrise Glow' along with origin information and the name Rudy Lopez Castillo.

“Marisa was able to extract the sentiment, look, and feel I was hoping for, creating something that felt true to me and resonated with those who know me best.”

– Kyle Hayslip, Owner

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