I was Blank Street’s art director during their most rapid growth period. I built their visual identity and met retail, marketing and digital design needs as they grew from small-format coffee shop to $500 million lifestyle brand.

When developing a retail and packaging design approach, I always returned to the cup as a guide. Each touchpoint was stripped down to the bare essentials - allowing the product to be the focus of every brand encounter. With store layouts and offerings varying widely across dozens of locations, this dedication to simplicity made entering any Blank Street a consistent, delightful experience.

This straightforward design system served as a foundation for experiments with playful, distinct approaches to seasonal launches and brand partnerships. I worked closely with creative director Mohammad Rabaa to create dozens of campaigns and events that engaged customers with dazzling imagery and interactive experiences, expanding the narrative of what the brand could be.

Whether it was the innovative flavors, strategic partnerships or that unmistakable green, Blank Street broke through in 2024, becoming a global phenomenon and reaching a $500 million valuation. Breathless reviews went viral on TikTok, the brand became synonymous with a desirable lifestyle, and the iconic cup was now a ubiquitous accessory for rising influencers and established celebrities alike.

At the heart of the refresh was the window - a rectangular form matching the dimensions of the original cart window, a blank space of possibility. The color palette widened to include a spectrum of greens, inspired by the shades a Blank Street takes on in morning, afternoon and night. A type system was built around the everyday “Regular Sans” and display-oriented “Remarkable Sans”, and the art direction shed F&B conventions in favor of fashion and editorial-inspired imagery.

I implemented the refreshed brand across all touchpoints - from takeaway packaging to campaign direction. The window began appearing in varying contexts throughout the brand, and the newly expanded green palette was inagurated with color-coded roast bags. Campaigns took on a fashion forward, lifestyle-focused approach, and paper goods were designed in tandem with product packaging, so the brand experience felt more cohesive and thoroughly Blank Street, both inside stores and beyond.