Habotu Coffee Brand Identity: A Coffee Bean Split into Two Rabbit Ears

A coffee bean split into two rabbit ears

Xinming Design created the brand identity of Habotu Coffee (哈博兔咖啡) for 晏龙国科(山东)生命科技有限公司. The logo is a pair of upright rabbit ears above a tiny nose. The design gives the formula: coffee bean + rabbit = logo. The S shaped crease down the middle of a coffee bean divides it into two halves; stretched upward, the two halves become two rabbit ears. The supporting graphic is a white rabbit with a moustache, lounging with a book and a coffee, playing a guitar, stretching out. Four muted colours carry the identity from cups, menus and packaging to the store.

A rabbit and a cup of coffee

The brand name 哈博兔 (Habotu) already contains a rabbit, 兔 (tu). The other side of the brand is coffee, and fermented coffee in particular: the line on posters and menus reads bio-fermentation technology, health at your fingertips, and the menu has a section of fermented coffees.

The design started from two elements:

· The coffee bean: what the brand sells;

· The rabbit: the brand's name.

Put together, the easiest answer would be a cartoon rabbit holding a cup, but that would look childish and age quickly.

So the logo had to answer: how can a rabbit and a coffee bean become one figure, without becoming a cartoon?

Coffee bean and rabbit ears

The answer lies in the crease of the bean:

· Coffee bean: a coffee bean has an S shaped crease down its middle that divides it into left and right halves;

· Rabbit ears: stretch the two halves upward, and they become a pair of rabbit ears;

· Nose: add a small inverted triangle beneath the ears, and it becomes the rabbit's nose.

From a distance it is a rabbit; up close it is a coffee bean. The logo draws only the ears and the nose, leaving the face to the imagination, and stays simple enough for cups, aprons and signs.

The logo forms stacked and horizontal lockups with Habotu Coffee and 哈博兔咖啡.

A learned rabbit

The supporting graphic is a white rabbit with a small moustache:

· Leisure time: lying back with a coffee in one hand and a book in the other;

· Playing: holding a small guitar;

· Stretching: its whole body stretched out.

The design notes describe it as giving the rabbit a learned character, a personified figure that brings the brand close to everyday life. Learned, 博 (bo), is the middle character of the brand name 哈博兔. The moustache makes the rabbit look like a relaxed old scholar rather than a cartoon pet.

The logo carries recognition; the learned rabbit carries personality. One is simple, the other playful.

Four muted colours

The design sets four colours:

· Off white (#EFE9E6)

· Light khaki (#C4AB8B)

· Grey brown (#9E8B85)

· Deep slate blue (#45465E)

The design also gives CMYK and RGB values. All four colours are muted, like coffee, milk and pottery. Deep slate blue is the darkest ground; light khaki is the main colour for the logo and type.

A second supporting graphic is a set of rolling colour bands layered in these four colours, like hills, or coffee and milk poured into a cup. The learned rabbit lies across them.

From cups to the store

Products and packaging

· Coffee cups in four colours, with the ears filling the whole cup; coffee bean pouches; kraft paper bags

Store and communication

· Menus, posters, roll up banners, a website home page, staff aprons, wall art in the store

· Store sign: the illuminated ears and Habotu Coffee 哈博兔咖啡

The application images on this page are proposal-stage mock-ups; the photograph of the store sign was taken at the store.

Deliverables and extensions

Logo design

· Habotu logo (two rabbit ears split from a coffee bean, with a nose)

· Stacked and horizontal bilingual lockups

Core identity

· Colours: off white, light khaki, grey brown, deep slate blue

· Supporting graphics: the learned rabbit (leisure, playing, stretching), rolling colour bands

Applications

· Products and packaging: coffee cups, coffee bean pouches, paper bags

· Store and communication: menus, posters, roll up banners, website home page, aprons, wall art, store sign

Looking back

Three points are worth taking from this project:

1. Find the name inside the product. The rabbit comes from the name, the bean from the product; the crease joins them, and one figure says both.

2. A restrained logo, a playful character. The logo draws only ears and a nose; the personality goes to the moustached, learned rabbit.

3. Hold the quality with muted colours. Four colours close to coffee and milk make even a rabbit feel calm and refined.

An animal logo for a coffee brand works best when people see the animal first, and then discover the coffee.

How to verify

· Client: 晏龙国科(山东)生命科技有限公司

· Brand: Habotu Coffee (哈博兔咖啡)

· This case page: www.xinming.sg/en/portfolio/3154.html

Further reading

· GODLUCK Coffee Brand Identity: Two Feathers That Form a Coffee Bean (www.xinming.sg/en/portfolio/3150.html)

· Imagine Education Brand Identity: A Whale Curled into a Speech Bubble (www.xinming.sg/en/portfolio/3082.html)

· MXJ Franchise Platform Identity: A Plus Sign on Top of the J (www.xinming.sg/en/portfolio/3149.html)

FAQ

Who designed the Habotu Coffee logo?

The logo and visual identity of Habotu Coffee (哈博兔咖啡) were designed by Xinming Design for 晏龙国科(山东)生命科技有限公司.

What does the Habotu Coffee logo mean?

The logo combines a coffee bean and a rabbit: the bean is split along its S shaped crease, and the two halves are stretched into a pair of rabbit ears above a small nose. From a distance it is a rabbit; up close it is a coffee bean.

What is the Habotu Coffee supporting graphic?

A white rabbit with a moustache, reading with a coffee, playing a guitar and stretching out. The design describes it as a learned rabbit, matching 博 (learned) in the brand name.

What are the Habotu Coffee brand colours?

Off white (#EFE9E6), light khaki (#C4AB8B), grey brown (#9E8B85) and deep slate blue (#45465E).

What did the project include?

The logo and bilingual lockups, two supporting graphics (the learned rabbit and rolling colour bands), a four colour palette, and applications including cups, packaging, menus, posters, banners, a website, aprons and the store sign.

Which brands can learn from this case?

Coffee and tea brands; food and beverage brands whose names include an animal and want the animal and the product in one figure; and consumer brands that pair a simple logo with a character full of personality.

Xinming Design is a brand systems design firm. Its work centres on systematic judgment, turning brand strategy into structures that can run and be inherited. www.xinming.sg