Crooked Grind

Role

Print Designer, Art Direction, Motion Designer, Copywriter

Packaging Collaborators:

Travis Rommereim

Timeline

20 Weeks

Tools

Figma, Illustrator, Indesign, Photoshop, Premiere, AfterEffects, Procreate

Overview:

Crooked Grind was concieved of as a sub-brand of the existing brand Bones Coffee. It was developed for the ready to drink market, specifically targeting a young, active audience. The project included packaging, Instagram ads, and a motion brand guide.

Problem To Solve:

Bones Coffee is pivoting into the ready-to-drink coffee market and needs branding that will reach new customers. The RTD coffee market lacks offerings for niche consumers, leading to missed opportunities for brand differentiation and consumer engagement. There’s a need for a coffee brand that can tap into specific lifestyle segments by aligning its product with their unique values and activities.

Solution

Create a ready-to-drink coffee brand that appeals to skaters through an energetic and unconventional visual identity that stands apart from typical RTD branding. Building from the existing personality of Bones Coffee, the project used exaggerated characters, dark humor, and fast paced motion design across packaging, motion, and a novelty vending machine to create a brand experience that feels chaotic, playful, and immediately recognizable.

Brand Identity

Logo

image of signature dish at a japanese restaurant

Palette

image of signature dish at a japanese restaurant

Concept Board

image of signature dish at a japanese restaurant

Can Design

image of signature dish at a japanese restaurant

Marketing

Motion Design

I created a motion guide for Instagram Reels to effectively engage online audiences, featuring a detailed advertising toolkit and sample reels. This effort pushed my skills in After Effects, demanding rapid adaptation and thoughtful blending of visual elements within strict time constraints. By crafting an asset library and establishing motion guidelines from scratch, I set a strong foundation for the ad campaign that amplified the brand’s narrative and visual identity.

Instagram Ads

Motion Guide

Novelty Vending Machine

Misfortune Vending Machine is a promotional installation concept for Crooked Grind Coffee that transforms a standard coffee giveaway into an immersive experience. Inspired by vintage fortune teller machines and macabre comic imagery, the installation features an animated skeleton, glowing crystal ball projections, lighting effects, and audio to deliver a tongue-in-cheek "misfortune" before dispensing a free coffee. The project was designed to attract attention, spark curiosity, and create memorable interactions at skate events and festivals.

Process

Research

In our market analysis of potential ready-to-drink (RTD) coffee consumers, we identified skaters as an underserved audience. There exists a distinct unmet need for an energizing beverage that complements the active lifestyle of skaters. Notably, the raw, edgy aesthetic of skaters aligns seamlessly with the existing branding of Bones Coffee, making this demographic a perfect match for our expansion.

Insights

Skate culture is already rich with illustration, humor, and irreverent visuals, making character-driven branding a natural direction for the project. Exaggerated characters, dark comedy, and novelty marketing helped position the product as something more memorable than a typical RTD coffee brand.

Sketches