Coffee packaging design and unusual typography choices
Hobo Typography
I was recently in Portland and couldn't resist a visit to Stumptown Coffee Roasters. The comical thing is I don't like coffee. A designer that doesn't drink coffee, I know, absurd. I was going for the good vibes and packaging design.
Stumptown's packaging developed from the idea of paying respect to the land, communities and families that farm their coffee. Colombia, Indonesia and Rwanda, just to name a few, have rich and lively cultures. These are depicted through colour, quirky illustrations and courageous typography choices. The coffee varietal is typeset in Hobo. For those of you that don't know, Hobo is loathed by many in the design community. It's a sans-serif typeface with some unusual characteristics, it has no straight lines and no descenders. Stumptown Coffee is a Portland institution, the unusual style of Hobo aligns with the attitude and mantra of the city. Keep Portland Weird. Whether you love or hate the use of Hobo on the Stumptown packaging, it's a good reminder to challenge your typeface choices, don't just stick within the small list of your preferred faces.
Other interesting uses of Hobo...
Hobo was used in the opening titles of The Dukes of Hazzard and the ending credits of That '70s Show. Hobo was also used by Lennart Klein @bureauklein on the book cover The
Disco – Pop Music and the Global War on Terror.
