A1Case study
The Penny’s café front: the butter wordmark over a turquoise wall, the PCC seal on the window, opening hours and a round hanging sign.

Some things don’t fit in a spreadsheet.

Brand
Penny’s Caffeine Company
Scope
Strategy, identity, packaging, campaign
Type
Self-initiated concept, 2026
A2The idea

A café brand that argues for the visit, not against the sum.

The challenge

Going out for coffee is usually judged as a sum: €5 a day is €1,825 a year. A café that argues with that sounds defensive. One that ignores it sounds out of touch.

The approach

Take the sum seriously, then show what it leaves out. The brand is written as the company a twelve-year-old called Penny would set up: earnest, literal and warm. The coffee is good, but the visit is what it sells.

The usual sum, and what it leaves out
Coffee out, every day€5
A year of it€1,825
The person you met in the queue#VALUE!
A3Identity

A wordmark that grows up as you read it.

The Penny’s wordmark in lowercase, each letter a little wider than the last.

each letter a little wider than the last.

Wordmark in Butter on Turquoise.
Primary
Wordmark with CAFFEINE COMPANY underneath.
With descriptor
The PCC seal: Penny’s Caffeine Company, est. age 12.
Seal
Turquoise#1D5B57Oat#F2EDE4Butter#F6E5A2Ink#14211FPowder#F2A7B8
A4In use

Packaging, print and a feed, all from one system.

The Penny’s counter: turquoise menu boards, pastry case and branded cups.
The café
The Brazil bean bag in Turquoise with the butter wordmark.
Bean bag, Brazil
The Indonesia bean bag in Butter with turquoise type.
Bean bag, Indonesia
An iced latte in a Penny’s cup in the sun.
Iced cup
The Sumatra bean bag on a café table.
Bean bag, Sumatra
A menu set as a spreadsheet, with an ALSO SERVED section priced #VALUE!.
Menu
A kraft pastry bag with the wordmark, a price grid and the seal.
Pastry bag
Loyalty card, front and back, with ten stamp cells.
Loyalty card

Instagram

The @pennys.caffeine Instagram profile and a post: Some things don’t fit in a spreadsheet.

A feed that mixes the café with the idea: photo posts of the real thing, type posts that carry the spreadsheet joke, and five highlight covers for menu, locations, beans, story and the CEO.

Instagram post: the café interior with the turquoise menu board.
Instagram post: an iced latte.
Instagram post: lunch outside, a Penny’s cup on a green table.

Campaign

Poster: SOME THINGS DON’T FIT IN A SPREADSHEET.
Poster: going out for coffee, a cost analysis, totalling #VALUE!.
Poster: THE CEO IS TWELVE. She’d like a word about your spreadsheet.
A5Deliverables

Everything needed to run the brand from day one.

The Penny’s logo system in five colourways.
Files delivered
ItemContentsFormat
Logo filesWordmark, descriptor lockup and seal, 10 versionsSVG
Packaging artworkBean bags for 2 origins, front and side, print-readyPDF, SVG
ApplicationsCups, pastry bag, menu, signage, loyalty cardPNG, SVG
Campaign3 posters and 3 social postsPNG, SVG
Colour tokens5 colours, ready for web and printCSS, TSV
Start a project

Opening a place that needs a brand around it?

Send a few lines about the brand, what you need and when. I reply within 24 hours, weekends too, and we set up a short call. Then you get a scope, a timeline and a quote.

Start a conversationHow it works: services, steps and what you get
Back to the start · Mile 01NOMABrand guidelines