Celebrating 10 Years of Upper Left Roasters
Packaging Design, Event Branding & Merchandising
This project combined so many of my passions. Having worked in the specialty coffee industry for 10+ years — as a barista, trainer, and roaster — getting to design a label for the coffee packaging was a dream project for me. And what a special one to create.
Upper Left Roasters is celebrating 10 years as a fixture of the Ladds Neighborhood in Portland, Oregon. As my favorite shop in town (and favorite place I’ve had the pleasure to work) it means a great deal to me to help them ring in this milestone. I needed to design something really special.
My goal for this label was to create a design that fit the coffee itself (Coconut Lime conferment — yum!), felt cool and summery, and captured the feeling of a 10th birthday party.
I created the caffeinated tiger character first, then leaned into the tropical theme, using the toucan and the crab to round out the crew and adding other floral elements to establish the setting.
For the merchandising around the label release, I created custom sticker designs, T-shirt designs, and event posters and postcards for the 10th Anniversary Party.
Lastly, I included a free animated video for promotional purposes on social media.