Taking their illustration talents outside of the classroom, students in Andrew Bernier’s Illustration Seminar had the opportunity to work with Colectivo Coffee, creating unique cup designs for the company. The four winning students created vibrant illustrations that are featured on Colectivo cups throughout the month of March 2016.
The four winning students whose designs are featured in all Colectivo locations are: Gabriela Riveros ’16 (Illustration), Nina Keizer ’16 (Illustration), Kaley Hamilton ’16 (Illustration) and Jasmon Grant ’16 (Illustration).
MIAD trustee Scott Schwebel, VP Brand, Marketing and Retail for Colectivo Coffee, helped to make the collaboration a reality, providing a real-world design experience to students. Through collaboration with Colectivo employees and MIAD faculty, students were given direction and critiques throughout the design process, helping to perfect the final product.
Hamilton drew inspiration from where Colectivo sources their coffee, creating a design that details the colorful homes found in many Brazilian cities, “I loved the interesting patterns that the buildings made, and wanted to translate that into a cup design,” added Hamilton.
Riveros had a similar approach, “I noticed Colectivo gets a lot of their coffee from places like Antigua, and because most of my illustrations have Latin themes, I thought it would be fun to be inspired by Guatemalan coffee workers and their culture,” said Riveros.
Keizer’s design is inspired by the Sumatran rainforest in Indonesia, folk art and Colectivo’s overall style, “It was a lot of fun to play with color and see how it effected the design,” said Keizer.
Students learned a lot from the experience, gaining a better understanding of packaging design and what it’s like working with a real-world client, “Getting a sense of that kind of work relationship was interesting. It makes me feel better prepared for life after college,” said Keizer.
For more information about MIAD’s Illustration program, click here.
