Koalaty Brew

Koality Brew: A Campus Coffee Brand with a Local Soul
Koality Brew is a conceptual brand identity designed for a fictional coffee shop located on Griffith University’s Gold Coast campus. This project blends illustration, branding, and storytelling to build a unique, place-based identity tailored to student life and local culture.


Design Intent & Context
As a student-led space, the café needed to feel approachable, authentic, and connected to the university community. The branding also needed to honour the Gold Coast’s natural environment and cultural identity. The name Koality Brew and its central mascot a friendly illustrated koala pay tribute to the region’s native wildlife and serve as a lighthearted symbol of campus pride.
The brand is designed to feel handcrafted, expressive, and community-focused, aligning with both the casual energy of university life and the professionalism of a real-world business. It balances charm with functionality, allowing for future growth and adaptation across both print and digital platforms.


Creative Process & Strategy
The project began with two early directions—Koalafied Caffeine and Koality Brew—each with quick identity mockups. I presented both concepts to industry professionals for feedback and, based on their responses, chose Koality Brew for its conceptual clarity, cultural relevance, and stronger audience connection.
I developed a full brand suite, including:
* A koala-led logo and icon set
* A custom illustration library featuring local motifs and café elements
* Branded takeaway cups, coffee bags, wraps, and in-store menus
* Shopfront and A-frame signage
* A billboard mockup for campus-wide visibility
* Social media templates and a motion-based sizzle reel
Throughout the design process, I focused on scalability and storytelling creating a system that not only works across formats, but also tells a consistent narrative about place, people, and identity.


Industry Feedback Integration
During project development, lecturers encouraged me to simulate a real client pitch, presenting multiple options and documenting the feedback loop. Dominique noted the value in showing how brands can evolve beyond a logo into advertising, social content, and long-term engagement strategies.
This project responds directly to that advice by extending the identity into advertising channels, showing how Koality Brew could be marketed across the Griffith campus and beyond.


Reflection
Koality Brew reflects my strengths in illustration-led branding, audience engagement, and context-aware design. It demonstrates how visual identity can connect to a specific place while still feeling commercially viable and client-ready.

Outcome
This case study shows how branding can celebrate place, identity, and community while delivering thoughtful, usable design solutions. Koality Brew is more than a coffee brand; it’s a symbol of local pride brewed with purpose, for students, by a student.