Premium coffee brand Black Poetry has partnered with OPEN Strategy & Design to develop the brand positioning, packaging design and visual identity for its entry into India’s carbonated coffee category.
The collaboration covers Black Poetry’s brand positioning, packaging design, visual identity system and communication framework for its ready-to-drink coffee offering.
OPEN Strategy & Design developed the brand idea ‘Coffee, Reimagined,’ drawing on the belief that cultural movements have emerged by breaking conventions across areas including jazz, hip-hop, street food and contemporary art.
The resulting creative philosophy, described as ‘beautiful vandalism,’ is intended to bring an irreverent approach to a category often associated with seriousness. The a creative philosophy “embraces irreverence in a category often defined by seriousness. Rather than treating disruption as shock for its own sake, the brand celebrates the idea that breaking the right rules can create something entirely new,” said the agency.
The can was also treated as a primary communication medium, with the packaging designed to attract attention and introduce consumers to the product on retail shelves.
Rahul Goel, Founder of Black Poetry, said, “Working with OPEN Strategy & Design has been an incredible journey.
“When we set out to enter the sparkling coffee space, we knew we didn’t just need a package design; we needed a brand that could hold its own in a category with no existing rules. OPEN understood that from day one. They pushed us to be bolder than we imagined, and the idea of ‘beautiful vandalism’ captured exactly the spirit we wanted Black Poetry to carry into this new space. The result is a brand world that feels distinctly ours – unexpected, confident, and impossible to ignore on shelf.”
Asparsh Sinha, Managing Partner at OPEN Strategy & Design, added, “Emerging categories rarely succeed by borrowing the language of established ones.
“Carbonated coffee needed a distinctive voice and a visual world that reflected its unconventional nature. The idea of beautiful vandalism shaped everything we created, especially the packaging. We saw the can as the brand’s most powerful media channel—its first opportunity to stop people, spark conversation and invite them into an entirely new coffee experience.”
