C1 Espresso is a notorious Ōtautahi hospitality hotspot dating back to the early 90s. Following the 2011 earthquake the café re-established itself in the iconic Post Office building — one of the few heritage-listed sites left standing on High Street (in the hip end of town). The move signified a new era for the brand, which previously leaned into a decidedly grungy, bohemian aesthetic. With new digs, it was time for C1 to grow up.

Empowered by an open creative brief, we wanted to establish a deeply locational brand that honoured the strength and heritage of the building, without jettisoning the eclecticism of the old C1. We focussed on clean deco lines, enriched by metallic accents to form the core brand, then threw out the rule book, placing the logo against found illustrations or creating our own, messing around with fluro colour ways or resetting the logo in different fonts. A departure from the usual idea that consistency is key when it comes to branding, we took a consistently inconsistent approach, made possible by clearly defined brand building blocks, which allowed us to put forward numerous variations on the brand without losing familiarity.

What resulted was a highly Instagrammable location that quickly became a destination for both locals and international travellers; and the production of hundreds of design artefacts — merchandise, websites, signage, menus, vouchers, original artwork, posters, packaging. Shown here are some of our favourite bits from across the years.

In addition to the café brand, C1 produced their own range of house-made beverages, all of which required branding and packaging. Every detail was considered down to the shape of the bottles, the consumer interaction experience and history of these products on Aotearoa’s shelves. Made available for wholesale, each of these products eventually became brands in their own right.