Filter Coffee dates back to the 17th century when beans were planted in the Chikmagalur hills of Karnataka, India. It is nothing short of a tradition in South Asia. You get to wear a badge of honour if the cup holds true to its flavour.
When the coffee is being prepared, the brew is taken far from the cup ( Tumbler ) to a wide bowl ( Davara ) which allows you to sip this piping hot coffee easily. The ritual involves pouring back and forth between the cup and bowl to create a gorgeous froth, this distance is almost a meter away, giving birth to the brand name itself.
At Meter Coffee, we look at filter coffee and not keep it just reduced to local street side cafes but let it reach households too. Our perspective was simple : To enable flavours within filter coffee while honoring the traditional flavor without the cliched nostalgia.
We landed on the insight that filter coffee hasn’t been played around with much intensity and intent. It either became a sort of compensation on menus or was a tradition that no one wanted to mess with.
This set on a journey to reclaim the spirit of filter coffee. Meter Coffee simply looks to enhance flavours that have been present around us all this time to this tradition. A perspective that allows you to enjoy cinnamon, malt, hazelnut and so much more and coffee that is for everyone in the household without any fuss.
The coffee is a clean label produced by women-led estates and made possible with farms in the regions of Karnataka and Kerala.
Our packaging takes inspiration from daily life that feels like a moment you’d spot while drinking your own coffee. Paired with patterns that are common sightings across Chennai, Sahana’s ( Founder ) hometown. A system design is seen at bottom for easy to read information with a simple goal of de-cluttering the jargon that can come with coffee!
We looked into honoring the process through organic and hand-drawn identity and illustration language, which led to use of a permanent marker, marker ink and a stack of printer paper to bring it to life. Analog mediums with mixed-media brought more warmth and familiarity, which felt like returning to our bare hands than relying on systems first.
The color palette is reminiscent of beaches and the sky that follows with it. For the design language, our strategy gave way to a series of Illustrations that leaned into moments, objects and experiences we have either grown up with, experience everyday or childhood stories coming to life. We wanted them to be easy to remember and bring more joy to coffee. For that we definitely had a filter “ Not to keep coffee boring “ As simple as the story of a crow drinking water from a cup or just a girl in her own world, running from one place to another with a cup of coffee.
Designer : Naughty Naughty
Location : Mumbai, India
Project : Naughty Naughty’s design for Meter Coffee – New Age South Indian Filter Coffee, brings back the joy of drawing
Client : Meter Coffee