Good Judy's is an exciting upcoming coffee shop in Chicago, opening some time in late 2025 or 2026.
The logo and branding went through a wild evolution, with the aim of creating a truly fun and unique brand that used elements of the 1980s and 1990s to invoke retro fun, with a central branding character that had her own personality. The moodboard for the creation of this brand took inspiration from Blossom (her iconic hat from the show of the same name), colors and font choices similar to the show Saved by the Bell, hair from the character of Blair on the Facts of Life, and a color palette inspired by the bright neon hues of the late 80s to the mid 90s. The visual style of Judy herself was taken from 80s and 90s cartoons and coloring books. The skin tone is based on that of the owner's mother.
It needed to be something that could age well, that could be recognizable by its outline, and even though it uses retro designs and colors, it should age well, without looking easily dated.
Initial sketches were done on paper and in Procreate, with the final inking and painting for the character done in Procreate, then transformed into vector in Adobe Illustrator.
Branding for Good Judy's is meant to be not only very unique, friendly and full of personality, it's made to be extremely versatile. In addition to appearing on light-up external signage and windows, the logo needed to appear on things like menus, business cards, buttons and stamps to promote the business across every medium.
