Rebranding The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf meant rethinking every guest-facing and internal touchpoint—from sugar packets to store façades. Packaging, signage, uniforms, digital platforms, and brand systems. Every department was involved. Every department had a voice.

The tokidoki collaboration brought Simone Legno’s iconic illustrations to a custom line of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf merchandise—tumblers, key chains, bucket hats, and tote bags. I art directed and designed the campaign content supporting the launch.

Working closely with the tokidoki team and photographer @emilyeizen, we captured imagery with just the right edge of being authentic to tokidoki fans while staying true to The Coffee Bean brand.

Photographer: Emily Eizen

Results:

Collectible merch that felt equal parts fashion, fandom, and tokidoki culture. Sold out many items first week.

Some ideas are just too good to keep in the “Initial Round” folders.

Breakfast Packaging for Taco Bell.

Taco Bell launched breakfast nationally for the first time, entering a market already positioned firmly with McDonalds and other QSR’s. A unique breakfast menu wasn’t going to be enough to make an impression, the Marketing team wanted breakthrough packaging that required more than just cool design, they wanted it to create social noise.

With that imposing obstacle we came to the realization that we had to design for the core demographic; those that were passionate, cultural followers of the Taco Bell brand.

WORD JUMBLE:

Each package, of the 21 variations, contains a different word.  When the varying packages are placed next to each other it creates a unique word jumble. This sparked those sharable social moments. The design had cut through the clutter; it was loud, bold and photogenic from a 3” frame.

It was a proven success the day of the launch. People shared their first moments with images on Instagram, Tumbler, and Facebook–bragging of their breakfast experience at Taco Bell, with pictures of packaging and the P.O.P. to tell their stories.

An internal campaign built to motivate café teams through competition - race to 800 positive reviews. Locations competed head-to-head, tracking progress in real time.

The concept used F1 racing as the visual language: Buttons, posters, and a custom app let teams monitor their performance and see how other cafés stacked up.

Data concur that consumers are drawn to video, animation, Giff’s. To support their thirst, each season we craft and create more to suffice their ravenous cravings.

The Nabi Line of Electronic Products for Kids

I wanted to tap into the mindset and the adventurous side of a kid. A little self reflection. The Nabi tablet allowed children to explore the world. Not taking them from reality but allowing them to be immersed in it. It’s a practical, day- to-day tool, designed and built for a kid.

The Coffee Bean Hook Book

This B2B brochure invites future franchisees inside The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf—highlighting the brand’s history, community presence, and people-first culture

Lifestyle + Fashion + Food are all interconnected. Presenting the product is an easier, more relatable proposition when viewed through the lens of one’s life.

I love shooting products in a socially inviting environment. When on photo shoots I always schedule time between in studio products shots to capture lifestyle moments.

They say you taste with your eyes first. In QSR, that matters more than ever. You’re working against those traveling 40 MPH or standing six feet away to say everything.

Speed of traffic, distance to the menu, zero patience.

I directed the photography and partnered closely with a copywriter to make every frame work harder. From a 99-cent taco to a seven-dollar latte, the mandate was the same:

Stop people cold, communicate instantly, and deliver nothing but the best.

PROBLEM:

After 11 years, Taco Bell changed its tag line from Think Outside the Bun to Live Más. I was tasked to give that tag line a look at the store level. What does Live Más look like on the staff uniforms.

SOLUTION:

Employees were surveyed and an over whelming response was the embarrassment of their uniforms. I wanted to change that perception from the outside but mostly because of the employees inner feelings. My creative filter was a mix of culinary exploration, the Taco Bell menu, and what is currently cool and edgy.

This was the presentation to Taco Bell. It created a lot of dialogue from many internal departments, but in the end, when personal feelings were removed and they could sympathize with the team members, changes began. It was another layer of revitalizing Taco Bell’s Branding with Live Más.