Taste: A Display Font That Turns Branding Into an Experience
I was staring at a blank brand board on my screen, the brief for a new neighborhood craft coffee roaster beside me. The client wanted something that felt both artisan and approachable, with a bit of a wink—a brand that didn't take itself too seriously but still promised a premium experience. My usual, reliable sans-serif options felt too corporate. My more playful scripts felt too casual. I needed something in the middle: stylish but not stiff, funky but not messy. That's when I opened the folder for Taste.
The First Impression: Where Taste Finds Its Groove
From the moment I typed the roaster's proposed name, "Steam & Bean," in Taste, I knew we were on a different path. The font has this immediate, confident personality. It's undeniably elegant, with clean lines and a balanced structure, but those subtle, quirky details in the letterforms give it a playful pulse. It radiates style without shouting. It felt like the perfect visual translation of "handcrafted with a smile."
For this project, and I suspect for many others, Taste works best as the hero. It's a display font, meant for headlines, logos, and key statements where personality is paramount. I dropped it into a simple logo lockup, and it instantly became the eye-catcher the description promised. It held its own without needing illustrations or complex shapes around it. The mood was set: sophisticated yet friendly.
From Mockup to Real-World Materials
The real test of a typeface is how it travels across different mediums. I started placing it in context. On a clean, minimalist packaging mockup for their signature blend bags, Taste as the product name gave the design a focal point that felt both contemporary and classic. On a business card, the roaster's name in Taste, paired with a simple, neutral sans-serif for the contact details, created a clear and memorable hierarchy. The display font did the heavy lifting of brand recognition, while the supporting typeface handled the practical info.
Moving to digital, I mocked up a website hero section. Taste, used for the main heading "Small-Batch, Big Flavor," commanded attention but remained perfectly legible even at larger sizes. In social media graphics announcing a new roast, the font added a cohesive, branded touch that made the posts feel part of a considered system, not just ad-hoc announcements. It translated beautifully from print to screen.
Building a System: Pairing and Practicality
No font lives alone, especially in a full brand identity. Because Taste has such a distinct character, pairing it is crucial. Its elegant, slightly funky nature makes it a fantastic partner for a very clean, neutral sans-serif. I used a straightforward geometric sans for all body text, descriptions, and finer details. This pairing creates a wonderful contrast: Taste brings the personality and brand voice, the sans-serif provides the quiet, readable foundation. It's a balance that feels professional and cohesive.
As a display font, Taste is not intended for long paragraphs. Its strength is in impact—logos, product names, headlines, pull quotes, short promotional statements. For the coffee roaster, that meant it appeared on the shop sign, the labels, the main website headers, and the posters for their launch event. Everywhere the brand needed to introduce itself and make a statement, Taste was there.
Testing Before Committing
Before finalizing any font for a client project, I run a few practical checks. With Taste, I examined how it looked at various sizes, from a large exterior sign to a small sticker on a coffee bag. Its clarity held up well. I tested it on different background colors from the brand palette. I also checked its multilingual support, as the client had some French marketing materials, and found it handled the additional characters seamlessly. Having access to the full character set, ligatures, and alternates allows for subtle customization, letting you tweak a logo to feel even more unique.
Licensing is always part of the conversation. Ensuring you have the appropriate commercial license for your intended use—whether it's for branded merchandise, packaging, or digital templates—is a fundamental step. It's part of delivering a professional, worry-free asset package to your client.
The Impact on Brand Perception
Using Taste as the central typographic voice did more than just "look good." It shaped the brand's perception. The elegance conveyed quality and care, assuring customers of a premium product. The playful, funky undertone made the brand feel accessible and human, breaking down the barrier that sometimes comes with artisanal goods. This duality, embedded in the typeface itself, helped the brand communicate two key messages simultaneously.
Consistency across touchpoints builds recognition. Seeing the same distinctive typeface on the bag, the website, and the café window reinforces brand memory. Taste, with its memorable style, accelerates that process. It gives the brand a visual anchor that is easy to recall.
For designers, this is the goal: to find a tool that not only solves the aesthetic problem but also embodies the brand strategy. Taste proved to be that tool for this project. It moved beyond being just a "font choice" to becoming an integral part of the brand experience.
Whether you're crafting an identity for a boutique, a skincare brand, a creative studio, or a local restaurant, if you need a typeface that carries both style and a smile, Taste is a compelling option. Start by dropping it into your next logo draft or packaging mockup. See how its funky elegance changes the conversation. It might just turn your design idea into the eye-catcher your client's brand needs.
