--- title: "The Lab: A coffee shop shaped into a lifestyle destination" description: "Culture Cartel created the brand architecture and identity for The Lab, a Bedfordview coffee shop and lifestyle concept, from signage to packaging." canonical: https://www.culturecartel.ca/work/the-lab language: en-CA publisher: Culture Cartel --- The Lab # The Lab A neighbourhood coffee shop, shaped into a lifestyle destination. - **Client:** The Lab - **Format:** Brand - **Industry:** Retail and Food - **Location:** Johannesburg, South Africa - **Year:** 2021 ![Two orange The Lab coffee bags on an orange background](https://www.culturecartel.ca/media/w/f79f2c_a3797b1a94944290-2000.webp) Services - Brand strategy - Positioning - Identity design - Brand systems Practice - [Strategy & Brand](https://www.culturecartel.ca/services#brand) [Start a project like this](https://www.culturecartel.ca/start?service=brand&ref=the-lab) ## The brief The Lab is a coffee shop and lifestyle concept in Bedfordview, Johannesburg. Culture Cartel was responsible for its complete brand architecture and visual identity. Not just a logo: the whole brand experience, shaped from the ground up. The goal was a café people choose on purpose, not one they simply pass. ## The insight Coffee is hyper-competitive, and the easy failure is becoming just another coffee shop. The name gave us the answer. A lab is precise, curious and a little experimental. A neighbourhood café has to be warm and easy to walk into every day. The brand had to hold both: laboratory precision with lifestyle warmth. ## The work ### Brand shaping A visual identity built on a test tube mark in hot pink and black, balancing precision with personality. ### Integrated touchpoints Everything from environmental signage and packaging to the digital presence, so the story stays the same at every point of contact. ### Packaging and merchandise Coffee bags in bold orange, takeaway cups and T-shirts that carry the mark out of the shop and into the neighbourhood. Every cup that leaves the counter is a small piece of advertising. ### Launch signage A “Launching Soon” sign and hanging street signage to build anticipation before the doors opened. ### Destination positioning We built the brand to be shareable, turning customers into advocates and setting The Lab up as a local landmark rather than a pit stop. ## The result A brand that feels curated and experimental but stays welcoming as a daily neighbourhood staple. The Lab connected with its local community while carrying the polish of a global flagship, and became a landmark within Bedfordview. Project highlights ![Black hanging sign with The Lab test tube logo on a stone facade](https://www.culturecartel.ca/media/w/f79f2c_9f6d8a750e6f4592-2000.webp) 01 / Black hanging sign with The Lab test tube logo on a stone facade ![Hand holding a The Lab takeaway coffee cup](https://www.culturecartel.ca/media/w/f79f2c_6a0325351e3f4e73-1200.webp) 02 / Hand holding a The Lab takeaway coffee cup ![The Lab logo in white on pink and in black on light grey](https://www.culturecartel.ca/media/w/f79f2c_36f4b44de29344c7-824.webp) 03 / The Lab logo in white on pink and in black on light grey ![Smiling woman in a white The Lab T-shirt](https://www.culturecartel.ca/media/w/f79f2c_48b817d7a5f041de-1200.webp) 04 / Smiling woman in a white The Lab T-shirt ![Man in a white The Lab T-shirt on a city street](https://www.culturecartel.ca/media/w/f79f2c_22813a70dc414473-1200.webp) 05 / Man in a white The Lab T-shirt on a city street ![Wooden The Lab Launching Soon sign on a concrete wall](https://www.culturecartel.ca/media/w/f79f2c_ba9ebca520694c37-2000.webp) 06 / Wooden The Lab Launching Soon sign on a concrete wall ![Woman with a takeaway coffee wearing a black The Lab T-shirt](https://www.culturecartel.ca/media/w/f79f2c_520ce06e91e24f09-1200.webp) 07 / Woman with a takeaway coffee wearing a black The Lab T-shirt ![The Lab logo routed into a wooden plaque](https://www.culturecartel.ca/media/w/f79f2c_a2fe52d101ea4c70-1200.webp) 08 / The Lab logo routed into a wooden plaque Results described qualitatively. ## Start a project like this. Positioning, identity and senior judgement that make you the obvious choice. Tell us where you are and where you need to be. [Start a Project](https://www.culturecartel.ca/start?service=brand&ref=the-lab) [Ask about this project](https://www.culturecartel.ca/lens?mode=ask&ref=the-lab) Related work - [Linda Lemon](https://www.culturecartel.ca/work/linda-lemon): A creator brand built with corporate rigour. · Brand / Food and Lifestyle Content / Johannesburg / 2020 - [Finery Guru](https://www.culturecartel.ca/work/finery-guru): Premium fashion retail. Built to look the part and convert. · Brand / Fashion and Retail / Johannesburg / 2021 - [Athletic Hearts](https://www.culturecartel.ca/work/athletic-hearts): A sport lifestyle brand with an identity built to travel. · Brand / Sport and Lifestyle / Johannesburg / 2022 [Next project GRID+CLUB The next chapter of F1inTO: Toronto’s race-day club, launching soon. Keep scrolling](https://www.culturecartel.ca/work/grid-club) --- Culture Cartel, 8 The Esplanade, Toronto, ON M5E 0A6. info@culturecartel.ca, +1 647 459 2154. Start a project: https://www.culturecartel.ca/start