Vero | Coffee & Gelato

Deliverables:

Branding
Collateral
Packaging

After many years of growth and evolution, Vero wanted to infuse some new energy into their brand of authentically handcrafted Italian coffee and gelato.

You can find their products HERE!

Logo: Marc Girouard & Tory Cunningham
Art Director: Renee Dimalla
Creative Director: Andrew Bolton
Vero Coffee Gelato logo on a dark background 
Discovery Phase

We were thrilled to taste Vero’s products, as their exceptional quality was immediately apparent. As we got to know the Lollino family, it became clear that capturing and celebrating their story was essential to creating the perfect design.

Italian Tradition with the American Spirit

Comparison of two Vero coffee brand logos, with the left labeled "Before" and the right labeled "After". The logo features the word "vero" in white lowercase letters inside a red shield-shaped background, with "COFFEE" written below it. The "After" version adds "GELATO" with a star in between, on a darker navy blue background, while the "Before" has a plain white background. 
Discovery Phase

From the beginning, we understood that the Vero family wanted to refresh their well-known logo, a staple throughout the city of Chicago. Preserving the brand recognition they had spent years building was a critical aspect of updating their brand identity.

A collection of Vero Coffee Gelato logos and icons in a grid pattern, with some logos featuring the word 'Vero' and others with icons representing coffee and gelato.
Open brand guidelines booklet showing logo color information, includes a color palette with navy blue, red, gold, silver, and cream hues.
Packaging design for Vero Coffee & Gelato, featuring a red coffee cup with the Vero logo, a plastic coffee lid, and a cup of frothy coffee. The design includes text about Vero's history and specialty coffee, along with icons representing the brand's coffee-making process. 
Conceptualization

We updated the main slab serif in the primary typeface to a heavily customized serif, helping to better showcase the exceptional quality of their offerings, including coffee, gelato, and pizza.

The badge shape and color were iconic within their local community, so it was important to keep those elements intact. To give it a fresh look, we refined the badge shape to feel sturdier and more emblematic, while adding the six-pointed star as a meaningful nod to Chicago.

Open brochure for Italian tradition and American spirits gelato and sorbetto, with flavors and packaging details.
Flyer with coffee branding and a picture of a cup of coffee with latte art, held in front of a red wall. 
Brand Visual Identity

Navy blue and a bright red were utilized as two of the main brand colors and exemplified classic and elegance. They needed to allow for a cohesive look and feel, as Vero’s offerings are wide.

Brochure featuring a cup of gelato topped with whipped cream and chocolate syrup, with chocolate chunks and a spoon in the background, on a purple cloth. 
Gelato

While the main brand palette reflected tradition and high-quality products, the gelato offered an opportunity to embrace a more playful and charming approach. We selected a unique color palette for each gelato flavor, thoughtfully designed to reflect its distinct flavor profile.

Assorted Vero Gelato containers featuring flavors such as Lemon Sorbettto, Chicago Pot Hole, Bacetto Chocolate Hazelnut, Mint Chocolate Chip, Pistachio Sicilia, White Chocolate Raspberry, and Wildberry Sorbettto laid out on a light-colored surface.
Four containers of Vero Gelato with mint chocolate chip flavor, on a light green surface, with sunlight casting shadows.
Two Vero Gelato containers, one labeled Chicago Pothole with orange lid, and the other smaller with a tan lid, showing an 'after' comparison. 
Gelato

Vero’s original gelato designs were somewhat inconsistent but included cohesive elements that we were able to build upon, such as prominently featuring the logo at the center of pack.

The unique color palettes we selected also provided a simple yet effective way to establish hierarchical organization. Additionally, we incorporated the Chicago six-pointed star as a decorative element, adding texture to the gelato pints while reinforcing a sense of quality and craftsmanship.

Open catalog showing various coffee and tea packaging designs on white pages against a black background.
Assorted Vero Gelato containers and coffee bags on a black background, including white chocolate raspberry, pistachio siciliano, caffe macchiato, Italian vanilla, and two bags of coffee. 
Coffee

Vero’s coffee leaned into the parent colors of navy and red, retaining a sleek blast of the two: One for whole bean coffee, and another for ground coffee.

Vero Coffee bag labeled Bella Bold in center surrounded by various colorful coffee product boxes on a light blue surface.
Two packages of Vero coffee, one black labeled 'Bella Bold' and one red labeled 'Colombian Supremo', standing upright on a white surface against a light background. 
Coffee

We aimed to transform Vero’s original bag designs into something more refined, moving away from Italian clichés. Instead, we embraced minimalism and typography to create a look that was both scaled back and elegant.

To make the flavor offerings easily distinguishable at a glance, we assigned each flavor its own unique color, a strategy common among coffee brands. Additionally, we incorporated the six-pointed star along with spot gloss details in select areas, adding a tactile element to the design.

Guide page showing coffee icons for brew types, including clean brewer, grind fresh, use filtered water, and follow suggested ratio.
Comparison of two bags of Vero Coffee, with the left labeled 'BEFORE' and the right labeled 'AFTER'. The 'BEFORE' bags are black and white, while the 'AFTER' bag is red with blue and gold accents.