CASE STUDY • IDENTITY • DIGITAL • CAMPAIGN
Gestures Coffeehouse
Brand launch for a fictional coffee shop initiative providing employment opportunities for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
RECOGNITION
2023 Salazar Awards, Honourable Mention for Branding Design
2023 Communication Arts Design Competition, Shortlist
2023 RGD Student Awards, SLD Award for Retail Design Winner
2023 RGD Student Awards, Gravity Award for Social Good Design, Honourable Mention
2023 ADCC Student Awards, Bronze
2023 Jim Rimmer Award, Winner
/01 CHALLENGE
Change perceptions and raise awareness towards the Deaf community.
There are millions of people in Canada that are currently facing unemployment. If you are a person living with Disabilities, job searching becomes a challenge in its own.
On average, only 1 in 3 people living with a Disability are employed worldwide. A person who is Deaf or Hard of Hearing in Canada has a 20% chance of being fully employed. The primary reason for this is due to the barriers and discrimination Deaf individuals face in a non-Deaf society. Potential employers may be reluctant to hire Deaf workers because of assumptions that communicating with them is “too much trouble” and meeting their needs in the workplace could be expensive.
Because of this problem, this project evolved around the question: How can I, as a hearing person, raise awareness and educate our community about the difficulties Deaf individuals face, while promoting a unique experience?
And the idea of a coffee shop emerged.
We usually associate coffee shops with gatherings, community, and a place full of opportunities. So I gathered that coffee would be the best way to bridge the communication barrier, and create a place where both communities merge.
/02 STATEGY
The city’s first sign language coffeehouse.
Gestures Coffeehouse is a fictional coffeeshop that aims to be the only place in Vancouver with a focus on employing Deaf youth as baristas. This not only ensures their job eagerness but also supports their career growth.
As a community-oriented business, Gestures is a gathering place where everyone is welcome. The goal is to offer a compelling made-to-order menu, as well as promote American Sign Language. This coffee shop is also an opportunity to change people's perceptions and views of the Deaf community by providing a unique experience to the public.
There’s two main target audience. We have your local socially inclusive individuals who live in Vancouver or nearby areas, and generally have more time to sit down and spend a few hours at a coffee shop during their work days. And, of course, we have individuals who identify as part of the Deaf community. They make up majority of our customer base, as well as a number of our team members. They regularly visit their local coffee shop. However, due to the lack of accessibility in their neighbourhood, they struggle to socialize and participate in the coffee culture.
The brand name comes from the idea that both Deaf and hearing individuals use hand gestures to communicate. The name itself is a unique way of conveying the fact that both communities share something in common.
/03 SOLUTION
A common shared ground.
The brand identity conveys everything the brand stands for: inclusivity, connection, and encouragement. The brandmark acts as an eye-catching representation of the coffeehouse. It communicates that whether hearing or Deaf, coffee can act as a shared experience through a common ground. The finalized logo merges the hand gesture for love in sign language with a warm cup of coffee, paired with a modern sans-serif typeface which evokes a very approachable and youthful personality.
The monochromatic brand colours have a purpose of communicating a sense of unexpected playfulness, but also have a touch of seriousness, and meant to stand out from the coffeehouse culture in Vancouver.
The primary colour used is blue since it’s so significant the Deaf community. It’s seen as a colour of hope, a symbol for sign language, and it represents how Deaf communities cherish their own language.
In addition, the idea of hand gestures is carried over throughout other elements of the brand such as iconography which helps bring materials to life, connect with people, and emphasize what the brand is all about.
/04 CAMPAIGN
Focusing on hands and employees to reinforce the Gestures philosophy.
In order to get the word out there about Gestures, there will be a launch campaign that communicates Gestures’ offer. The main tagline ‘Let Your Hands Do the Talking’ relates back to the core values and essence of the brand. The messaging and tone of voice should leave the public with the impression that this is a place to celebrate unity, all while showcasing their experience in the coffee culture. The messaging is meant to be casual and friendly, appealing to a young audience with the intention of connecting two communities.
The imagery for the campaign focuses on hands, to reinforce the fact that our employees not only use their hands to communicate but also to serve customers delicious coffee and pastries.
The website will act as the main touchpoint of the campaign, driving users to read more about their purpose, menu, learn sign language, meet their baristas, and shop the brand.
Both audiences have an online presence, so reaching out through social media channels where they’re already at like Instagram and Facebook will be especially important.
For the Deaf community, in particular, social media is and has been a significantly transforming tool for communication. Media has always been a powerful tool to share information with Deaf individuals, and for them to find community organizations that dynamically empower their cause.
With this in mind, Gestures should intrigue customers’ interest before they enter the cafe. Their social media will showcase details about the cafe that they can relate to personally, whether that be the same values, the food, or the memories they can make there. This authenticity will allow for sincere connections and development.
Through ASL hand gestures animations, Gestures Coffeehouse hopes to be a communication platform that delivers awareness in an approachable way with the ambition of creating better inclusion for the Deaf community.
The coffeehouse culture is one with lots of competition in Vancouver. However, Gestures comes with an advantage by bringing a new concept. The overall visual language was designed to reflect the uniqueness of the brand without making consumers feel excluded.
/05 KEY TAKEAWAYS
The idea for this project emerged as I began to think about ways to relate a personal topic into my work. Having someone in my life who is Deaf and learning about the challenges that affect them every day motivated me to develop Gestures.
Whether it was through learning new skills or reflecting on my own positioning as a human-centered designer, I’ve experienced the most growth working on this creative challenge. Through different research methods, and lots of conversations, I learned about peoples’ experiences and was able to apply them in this community-driven project.