The first time you taste it, you're born again. It's sweet and juicy, with intense richness—entirely unlike what your parents kept in the cupboard when you were a kid. You want more, so you watch a few videos online, and before you know it, you've got a fancy-ass kettle and a $350 German engineered hand grinder. But why does great coffee have to be so complicated? Sucker Punch says it doesn't.

I was very fortunate to work with local Art Director John Larigakis on this project in my third year of studies. I significantly improved my design process and learned much from him about brand storytelling. Somewhere along the way, we joked that a coffee company called Sucker Punch should have violent product photography, and the rest is history. Huge thank you to him for his time and mentorship.

One critical characteristic of specialty coffee is working directly with small-holder farms. Building relationships and paying higher prices per pound to producers, washing stations, or cooperatives means that specialty roasters get the highest-quality coffees. As a result, the country of origin and the name of the producers, washing stations, and cooperatives have become a signal to savvy consumers that the coffee they are about to enjoy is more delicious, thoughtfully cared for, and ultimately more equitable than other programs such as fair trade. An essential design choice for Sucker Punch was to ensure that these crucial pieces of information were front and centre on each packet of instant coffee.