ISO HOMECAFE
THE INCENTIVE
I love cafe culture––and I love coffee and tea.
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With the advent of COVID-19, I was no longer able to freely indulge in the pleasures of coffees, teas, and desserts while visiting my favorite cafes.
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Iso Homecafe was not necessarily an entry point into my love of coffee––it was a byproduct. Naturally because I didn't have the freedom to visit every cafe saved on Yelp, I resorted to making my own drinks at home. Shortly after, I decided to photograph/film my process and upload my efforts onto the internet!
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Originally started as a single instagram page, I expanded my brand to accommodate more detailed blurbs of my home-cafe experiences. My hope was that all family, friends, and strangers on the internet may be able to follow along and elevate their homemade experiences... whether it be from the simplest cup of coffee, a sweet iced tea, or a complex pudding soufflé concoction followed from an online recipe. I believe that we all can enjoy the pleasures of cafe culture from our own homes.
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april 2020
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present
WHAT IS IT?
Iso Homecafe is a place for me to upload all of my beverage/dessert creations. Sometimes, it's as simple as a bagged ice tea, but other times, my drink creations can take up to 15 steps. Iso Homecafe is mainly headquartered on Instagram, but I also try to maintain its Facebook page and blog/recipe posts on isohomecafe.com.
To engage in a homemade feel, this page was made to include the mistakes, happy surprises, and accidental spills that most likely are very familiar to homebodies (aka all of us).
BRANDING
For Iso Homecafe, I wanted to evoke both an editorial and graphic look. Figuring out how to merge the two together (elegance + playfulness) was more difficult than I initially thought––I was stuck for two days thinking just about what kind of typeface I should use!
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The ultimate choice of typeface was Bodoni Oldstyle used interchangeably with small caps. The use of interchangeable oldstyle and small caps allowed for uniformity in keeping all of the letters at the x-height. The elegance of Bodoni and the classiness of its curvatures fit into the editorial criteria I was looking for.
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To incorporate graphic fixtures into my brand, I decided to go for a more illustrative logo, along with various poppy colors.
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I've included both a day/night version of logos––with three respective variations of color choices. With the elements that make up my logo, there are many opportunities for graphic transformations.
COLORS
BRAND SHADES
COFFEE SHADES
CEMENT SHADES
BLENDING SHADES
MELON SHADES
ICE SHADES
WHY "ISO HOMECAFE?"
Many people have asked me why I decided to name my homecafe "Iso Homecafe." When I first started posting photos and videos on Instagram, I was posting just for fun––without thinking of Iso Homecafe's future potential. So naturally, I adopted the "Iso" from my personal Instagram handle: "isoshine".
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So... it might be helpful to explain where "isoshine" came from. In high school, I was heavily involved in photography, so I acquired "iso" from the camera's ISO settings, which are principally used to adjust lighting. Because my name, Shine, is affiliated with light, I thought it was a clever way to identify myself.
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When I started dreaming bigger things for Iso Homecafe than just posting here and there on Instagram, I launched a rebrand to think more decisively regarding my logo, website, and brand as a whole. I made the executive decision to keep the name as is.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
I believe there are many reasons to be proud of Iso Homecafe thus far. However, I take most pride in how efficient I've become with the managerial work that goes into developing and content-creating. In the few months that I've spent working on Iso Homecafe content, I have streamlined the process to maximize the film and photo quality (by light of day), minimized the time it takes to post and caption content (by the use of Buffer), and the overall administration of consistency and branding.
WHAT'S NEXT FOR ISO HOMECAFE?
Iso Homecafe has many potential futures. I am currently in talks with a few investors in Orange County to expand Iso Homecafe outside of the web. We are thinking of opportunities for either a pop-up location or a physical office/coffee space (stay tuned!). Regardless, I am always thinking about how I can improve and enliven my content in my spare time. Because I am still a student with obligations to multiple organizations, Iso Homecafe often takes a back seat to other pressing responsibilities. Nevertheless, Iso Homecafe is still slowly on its way to reaching small milestones, and I believe there is a bigger aspiration for Iso Homecafe in the near future. If you would like to know more or are thinking of requesting partnership, please reach out to me at www.isohomecafe.com. I would love to hear from you and work together.