Machina Coffee
Social media illustration
Machina Coffee is a specialist, full service, coffee roaster based in Edinburgh, offering everything from coffee making equipment and training, to bespoke blend coffee.
The company asked me to create a series of eye-catching and unique illustrations for use across their social channels, with the aim of creating a point of difference, distinct personality, and to reflect changes to their brand.
Ideas development
Before putting pen to paper on a project like this, I consider the current brand imagery, look and feel. I also assess what’s happening more broadly in the industry and client feedback as to the direction their brand is moving in, to pull together a mood board of relevant imagery for inspiration.
Work in progress
To create Machina’s illustrations, I worked through an iterative process, first creating black and white outline drawings for each theme the client had provided. Following their approval, I applied colour to the illustrations, adhering to their brand colour palette.
The final illustrations
The final illustrations provided Machina with the opportunity to add another tier of imagery and fun tone of voice to their social media channels, while reflecting current and upcoming changes to their brand.
Working within a brand colour palette can be restrictive, but can also lead to interesting outcomes. The series of images, while distinct, linked together the range of settings in which Machina coffee can be enjoyed, providing a consistency of style throughout their social media feed.
“Working with Graeme is always an absolute pleasure. He balances a considered professional approach with an easy going nature, that ensures work is always done to the highest of standards but is also an enjoyable process along the way. He did a great job for us at Machina Coffee; we were looking for some distinct, eye-catching illustration work for our Instagram feed that would cut-through and capture attention, to stop the scroll in a very crowded marketplace. He listened carefully to the brief, made strong recommendations about the direction and look for the work, but also took feedback on board and accommodated changes where relevant. The illustrations were incredibly well received, with huge engagement and positive feedback, and we look forward to doing more work with him in the future.”