Design Showcase: Jess Glebe, Jess Glebe Design
Featuring the packages for Bright Land Coffee Co., Deca Gray Coffee Co. and more.
Who: Jess Glebe (She/Her)
Role: Owner/Lead Designer
Where: Philadelphia-region, PA
Connect: www.jessicaglebe.com • @jessglebedesign • See the reviews on Google!
What they order: Every morning I make myself either an iced or hot latte using our Breville Barista Touch (gifted to us by one of our favorite clients ever. Shout out to Penny & Rose! Lately I’ve been hooked on Cameron’s Organic Espresso, but before that it was Intelligentsia Black Cat Espresso.
Any favorite roasters/coffee shops you'd like to shout out: Since we have a magical espresso machine and since I also work from home, I don’t find myself buying coffee at shops much these days. When the wife and I find ourselves in NYC or on the West Coast, we’ll go out of our way to find a Blue Bottle.
R!WC: Jess, thanks for chatting with us at Roast! West Coast. I'm excited to learn more about your design work, but first, I'd like to ask about you! Who are you?
Jess: Oh, sheesh, that's a loaded question. I'm a geriatric millennial who misses the days before everyone was glued to their cell phones (Yet, I admittedly waste time going down "cute animal" meme rabbit holes on Instagram and instantly forget I logged on to post new work). I'm a goofy introvert, which people are often surprised to learn. I'm honest, share openly, and don't sugarcoat things.
Oh, and I love getting my hands dirty fixing things up around our 1930s-era house.
R!WC: How long have you been working in design, and how did you get started specifically in packaging design?
Jess: I started freelancing while I was still in college, around 2005. I'd take whatever work I could get; I was just super excited to be doing anything in design. I juggled a few part-time jobs as I put myself through college, working at a video store (remember VHS?), photographing kids' sports teams, random cleaning jobs, and retouching photos for a small company [that] photographed weddings. I really honed my skills [by] learning to cut and paste the heads off one group photo to another because "Aunt Mary" was blinking.
R!WC: Your company brand is you—Jess Glebe Design. Is it easier or harder to create a brand identity for yourself than for a client, and why?
Jess: So hard! My company name is the name I went with in college because I figured I would never run into any trademark conflicts with my bizarre/unique last name. I also couldn't think of a name at the time that didn't sound ultra-pretentious and/or cheesy.
Creating a logo for myself was a whole other beast—and I have my wife to thank for sketching out my own monogram. She's not a designer, but she sure could have been. Once she sketched the essence of what is now my monogram, I thought, "That's it… let's call it a day." What I had been working on for myself up to that point was gone with the wind.
R!WC: What makes for a good designer/client relationship?
Jess: Communication, patience, and respect.
R!WC: What is your strategy or philosophy when brainstorming the design concept for a new package? What are the challenges? What is the fun part?
Jess: It's fun (almost) every time. I love solving problems, making order out of chaos, and learning how clients think. Very rarely are we on two different planets, so I believe in my heart of hearts that our clients are also having fun during the process. A lot of our clients are "newbies" to the industry and new to working with designers, so I love guiding them through the process.
In terms of brainstorming, I have a great logo questionnaire/survey that I start off every branding project with. It helps clients think about things they otherwise wouldn't have and gives me something to refer back to during my process. A lot of design direction gets figured out here for me — the rest of it is hard to explain…it just "unfolds" as I work.
Sometimes, it can be challenging when there's a "design language" barrier, for lack of a better term, between myself and a client who doesn't use design terms every day. So, I just need to pivot and find new ways to explain things in a way a non-designer can understand.
R!WC: What makes for a good coffee package design? Why do some packages stand out on the shelf?
Jess: There is so much good design in the world, so what I'm drawn to certainly doesn't mean that what I don't particularly love is "bad" design. I'm drawn to simpler, clean packaging and soft color palettes with clear typographic hierarchy.
Regardless of color palettes and design styles, I would say that clear communication of what the product is is key. All the bells and whistles sometimes compete with the ability to figure out what the coffee bag holds inside because it's hidden on a frenzied package.
R!WC: You have a long client list in the food, beverage, and hospitality industries. Why focus on this area of design? How does good design add value to these types of businesses?
Jess: We work with a variety of clients in the food and beverage industry, not just coffee roasters, so Roastar prints a variety of packaging for several of our other clients, including honey, funnel cake, grits, and cornbread mix brands.
R!WC: You work with your wife, Caitlin Riley. How do you manage the overlap of career and personal working with a spouse? Full disclosure: I've also worked with my spouse several times with varying levels of success.
Jess: Oh my gosh, this made me giggle. Here's where people will roll their eyes and think I'm lying when I say that it's a dream come true working with my wife. She's the best writer I know, and I am always excited when our projects coincide.
It helps that we both work in two different creative realms—she's our copywriter, and I'm the designer. We're both strong supporters of each other's work, but we've also perfected the art of critiquing one another. She's equally as honest as I am when it comes to telling it like it is, so I trust her opinions wholeheartedly, and I often find myself making design adjustments based on her feedback before I send work out to clients.
I'm a decent writer as well, so I'd like to think I'm repaying the favor from time to time when I offer Caitlin writing feedback. *It's hard because she really is the best.
R!WC: What questions should a client ask of a potential designer/design firm?
Jess:
Will you be honest with me or just tell me what I want to hear?
How long will my emails and requests realistically sit in your inbox before I hear back from you?
Ask to see their work and Google page with reviews from past clients.
R!WC: The next time we're in the Philly area, where should we get a coffee and/or a beer?
Jess: Bill's Best Brewery in Glenside, PA. They're one of our favorite clients, and their beer is top-notch.
R!WC: Is there anything else we didn't cover that listeners should know about you and/or Jess Glebe Design?
Jess: I ask a lot of questions before we start a project. So get ready to do your homework, clients! ☺
CHECK OUT THESE R!WC INDUSTRY PARTNERS
Roastar • Zumbar Coffee & Tea • First Light Coffee Whiskey • Steady State Roasting • Mostra Coffee • Coffee Cycle • Camp Coffee Company • Ignite Coffee Company • Ascend Coffee Roasters • Marea Coffee • Cape Horn Coffee Roasters • Hacea Coffee Source • Crossings Coffee • Acento Coffee • Sivitz Roasting Machines
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FONTS:
Gotham is available via Typography.com. Brothers is available via Adobe Fonts. Copperplate Gothic is available via FontsGeek.com. Avenir Next Condensed is available via linotype.com.
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