The Mill
The Mill is an independent café in Forfar undergoing an exciting period of change. With plans to expand into a gallery space and visitor accommodation, the business needed an identity that would support this operational change and reshape customer expectations whilst providing a flexible framework for future growth. Inspired by the building's agricultural heritage as a former threshing mill, the resulting identity is both expressive and practical, designed to evolve alongside the business while strengthening its sense of place.
Visual Identity & Brand Guidelines
Logo Design
Illustration
Printed Collateral
The Brief
The Mill is an independent café in Forfar that has built a loyal following over more than a decade. With plans to introduce a gallery space and visitor accommodation, alongside a renewed focus on fast, casual dining, the existing brand no longer reflected how the business wanted to operate.
They were looking to refresh the identity and create a flexible visual system that would support this next chapter while remaining appealing to existing customers.
Design Approach
Research into the history of the building uncovered its agricultural links as a former threshing mill. Instead of leaning into nostalgia, this became the conceptual foundation for the identity. Themes of process and movement informed the design, reflecting both the building's past and the efficient, everyday experience The Mill wanted to create.
The result is a flexible identity system that communicates warmth and character while supporting multiple areas of the business under a single recognisable brand.
Illustrations
Illustration is central to the identity, designed to be hand-drawn, loose and expressive. This immediacy reflects the pace and informality of the café experience, while the expressive quality also supports the gallery aspect of the business.
