Crafting Calm, Caffeinated Identity — Branding MAROMA

Not every brand project starts with a client brief and a list of deliverables. Sometimes, it starts with a craving.

MAROMA was one of those projects. No rules nor timelines, just a quiet itch to create something personally aligned.

It had also been a while since we worked on a food & beverage concept, and we were overdue for one with some soul. So we built a fictional brand from scratch, one that could genuinely live and breathe on a corner in Bondi.

This is a breakdown of how MAROMA came to life. MAROMA is a boutique coffee roaster designed for those who sip slowly, think deeply, and judge espresso shots by their crema gradient (might or might not have AI-generated a list of unhinged coffee jokes in the process).

A Brand Born from Boredom and Curiosity

Sometimes you just need to work on fun little passion projects. MAROMA was that outlet. Actual client work is great, but the confines get too defined. You’re only allowed to push boundaries if someone signs off on the boundary-pushing. That doesn’t exist in self-initiated work.

And let’s be real. We missed F&B branding. The textures, the taste cues, the colour decisions that make you question your entire personality. It was time to play.

Brewing for the 6AM Crowd

We knew we wanted to create a coffee brand. That part was settled. The rest (location, audience, environment and mood) needed to be unearthed.

After many summers on the Australian coast, it was obvious this belonged in Bondi. Not the beach club version, but the 6am flat white before the coastal walk. Those moments enabled reflection, introspection, and quite literally filling our own cups before everyone’s else’s.

MAROMA is a brand for the gentle and introspective. For the individual who wakes early, appreciates slow living and the refined ritual of a morning routine.

Muted Mornings and Earthy Tones

“Bondi coastal elegance meets artisanal precision.” That was the visual brief in a sentence.

We wanted to reference the beach without being too blue about it (literally). Predictability wasn’t the vibe. After putting together a simple moodboard for inspiration, we realised we were drawn to natural colours — the crema of espresso, driftwood, volcanic soil, and a kind of soft morning light that you can’t quite name.

We chose a muted, earth-sea palette comprised of beige, sand, earthen blues, and let negative space do the talking. We also wanted the colour palette to look sophisticated, representing a brand that was understated yet suitable for a laid-back atmosphere by the coast.

Finding Soul in a Sea of Fonts

Typography does the heavy lifting. In this case, it is the logo.

We tested MAROMA across 8 typefaces, looking for the right rhythm in the letters. Uppercase, lowercase, with and without ligatures, essentially overanalysing it like espresso connoisseurs at a cupping. First, the individual letters of the name need to work with the appropriate ligatures of a typeface. The letter A may feature a stylistic tail on the Avenir font, but may look completely flat on Times New Roman.

We landed on Amarante Regular, a medium-contrast Art Nouveau-esque Google font with just the right amount of flair. Stylish, but not loud. Editorial, but not cold.

It gave the brand soul.

Finding Restraint After a Few Regrettable Sketches

The design process is one big cycle of bad ideas you have to move through to find the good ones. At one point, we did try turning the ‘O’ into a coffee bean. (We regret nothing. But we deleted it.)

In the end, we created two logo versions:

• A horizontal logotype for main usage

• A stacked variation for narrow or vertical applications

We skipped brand patterns and focused on type, colour, and imagery to do the storytelling. The brand’s personality didn’t need decoration. It needed space.

Building a Brand World You Can Hold

Here’s the part no one tells you: the hardest part isn’t the colours or the logo. It’s piecing the project together.

It’s where you take all the elements and build a brand world. A physical space. A feeling. You step into the shoes of the customer and instil the brand with an element of surprise. Going that bit further to convert a brand identity into a brand experience. For a moment they hold a card or label and think: “Damn. Someone cared.”

The final system includes:

• Coffee roast labels with custom colour codes

• Minimal printed cards for storytelling and education

• Tactile layouts built to linger in hand

Earlier this year, we visited Saigon and were blown away by how serious the coffee culture is there. At XLIII Specialty Coffee, baristas present you with origin cards even before they take your order, explaining bean profiles like sommeliers.

Naturally, we stole the idea.

Each roast label in MAROMA has its own story, format, and identity, inspired by the bean’s source and roast profile. It’s thoughtful without being precious. Clean enough to be premium. Textured enough to feel lived in.

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MAROMA doesn’t sell caffeine. It sells a moment. A pause. A kind of quiet power that comes from doing something simple, well.

From naming to execution, every element was meant to feel gentle, considered, and human. The brand doesn’t demand your attention, it earns it.

If you're working on something similar, a brand with soul, story, and a well-earned espresso habit, we’d love to help bring it to life.

Reach out. We’re ready to build brands that linger longer than your 3rd cup of coffee for the day.