It was a great pleasure to work with Hasslacher’s for the packaging design of their range of roasted and ground Colombian coffee.

The strap line for the coffee range is “Hecho por Colombianos para Colombianos” in other words “Made by Colombians for Colombians”. Normally the best coffee stays in Colombia and is not exported, but Hasslacher’s aim was to bring us a taste of best of what the Colombians themselves drink.

 Having visited Colombia some years ago, Tristan already had a first-hand visual library and had developed an interest in vernacular type and local crafts, which we used as a starting point for our designs and illustrations.

Our designs took direct inspiration from the local chivas, the beautifully hand-painted buses that are typical to rural Colombia. The buses are colourful and bespoke to each driver, who usually gives the bus a unique nickname. After studying the typical ranges or colours and forms in this rich graphic language we created our own interpretation of chivas as a homage to this tradition – we hope honours it and connects the product to culture of the region.