Marquess Coffee
A premium brand identity and E-commerce website that connects tradition with elegance
Overview
I worked with Gabriella Marquez to create a complete brand identity and e-commerce website for her business, Marquess Coffee. The goal was to build a brand that blends tradition with exploration, giving customers a sense of comfort and “new beginnings.” I designed the visual identity, product packaging, and a user-friendly online store that she can easily manage using Ecwid
Client
Year
Role
Tools
The Problem
Marquess Coffee needed a unique identity to stand out in the competitive coffee market:
- No Brand Identity: The business needed a professional logo and a color system that showed its high quality.
- Packaging Design: They needed a way to clearly show the difference between their coffee roasts on the physical bags.
- E-commerce: To grow the business, they needed a website where people could buy coffee easily on any device as an online store.
The Strategic Goal
We wanted to create a "royal" brand experience that feels sophisticated but also warm and welcoming:
- Build a Royal Identity: Use a golden crown symbol to represent luxury and premium quality.
- Simplified Shopping: Create a website that is easy for the owner to manage and fast for the customer to use.
- Consistency: A brand that represents the values and goals of Marquess Coffee across all deliverables (packaging, branding, and website).
My Design & Development Process
Logo Design & Meaning
I designed the logo mark using two circles that cross each other to form a royal crown. For the text, I chose the Cinzel font because it looks refined and elegant.
Color System
I created a color palette where each color represents a different category of coffee:
- Gold (#E8AF00): Shows royalty and high quality across the whole brand.
- Purple (#46065F): Used for Decaf to feel calming and luxurious.
- Blue (#122772): Represents the Medium Roast as balanced and refined.
- Black (#000000): Used for Dark Roast to show a bold and intense flavor.
Product Packaging
I designed labels for four specific coffee roasts: The Student, The Lawyer, The Professor, and The Entrepreneur. Each label includes important details like the roast level, country of origin, and tasting notes.
Figma Design
Before I started building, I created the high-fidelity designs and wireframes in Figma. This allowed me to focus on the visual hierarchy and make sure the brand felt premium before moving to the technical development.
Ecwid Build
Initially, I explored other site builders like Webflow for this project. However, I found that they did not have enough support for the specific cart connectivity we needed. I made the strategic decision to move the development to Ecwid because it offered better integration with payment platforms like Bambora. This allowed me to create a more secure website that gave the client more options for payment processing.
- User Flow: I planned the site architecture in Figma to make the shopping journey smooth and easy to follow.
- Secure Payments: By using Ecwid, I was able to connect the shop with Bambora to handle all digital payments safely.
Final Results & Reflection
In the end, I delivered a fully functional online storefront on Ecwid that the client can easily customize and manage. My goal was to build a smooth ordering experience that didn't feel complicated for the owner.
Beyond the digital space, I also completed the packaging design for the physical coffee bags, ensuring the "royal" brand identity translated perfectly from the screen to the customer's hands.
Streamlined Storefront: I built a professional online ordering flow that is easy for the client to update without needing a developer.
From Digital to Physical: The deep blue and gold branding was successfully applied to the physical coffee bags, creating a consistent premium experience.
Current Status: Although the business unfortunately decided to shut down the website at the beginning of this year, the project remains a strong example of a full brand transformation.
My Reflection
Looking back, this project was a big win in terms of choosing the right tools. Moving the store to Ecwid gave the client the flexibility they needed for payments and order management. It was a great lesson in how branding and technical setup work together to tell a story. I’m proud that I created a digital home that truly reflected the craft and heart of Marquess Coffee, even if it's no longer online.
