Puerto Rican Bakery

The American Dream

I wanted to make sure Omar and his family were included in the designing process. After interviewing him and his family, I performed a secondary research to further understand the culture and traditions of his home city and country.

I drafted two different logos and nine variations based on Puerto Rico’s iconography and iconology. The finalists were inspired by Puerto Rico’s rich colonial history and its national sport.

  1. Baseball is part of Puerto Rico’s identity, which is why I decided to bring it to life. Mr. Omar himself is a huge fan of the Gigantes de Carolina (the Carolina Giants), one of his hometown’s most popular teams.

  2. El Castillo San Felipe del Morro was designed to guard the entrance to the San Juan Bay, and defend the Spanish colonial port city of San Juan from seaborne enemies. Today, El Morro has become the symbol of Puerto Rico and is a reminder of the country’s colonial past.

Hitting a homerun!

Omar Olivares’ wildest American dream was to open his very own Boricua coffee shop after emigrating to the continental United States. Omar finally opened his coffee shop in early 2020 in the mist of the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic & economic crisis. Omar’s Puerto Rican Coffee Shop lacked brand identity and was struggling to position itself in the market.

  • Build awareness around Caribbean food and the diversity within the Latinx community.

  • Design a brand identity from scratch to jumpstart Mr. Omar’s business.

  • Solidify a client base and attract new demographics.

Bringing island flavors to the midwest

A few weeks later, I delivered a piece that was heartfelt and deeply connected—not just to his Puerto Rican roots, but to the community he serves.