The Magic Bean
Coffee Shop
Solihull-based charity, Ordinary Magic (OM), which supports young people struggling with mental illness, had decided to broaden their services by opening a coffee shop on the busy high street. As a small, independent not-for-profit, the aim behind starting this café had been to generate a steady income stream for the cause while acting as a physical support hub for local youths.
Charity founder and CEO, Katie Washbourne, was the driving force behind the aptly named Magic Bean Coffee Shop; and thanks to one of our contractors, we were invited to help transform the space into a fun, safe and welcoming environment for families in the area. With enchantment playing a key role in OM's branding, the client was keen for us to carry this theme over to The Magic Bean. This inspired us to create a visually striking and colourful interior and branding design concept that matched the tone of the original organisation and appealed to the target audience.
With all funds donated by generous supporters, the budget was the most challenging aspect of this project, but we were determined to bring the client's vision to life. Rising to the challenge, we came up with a vibrant and exciting colour scheme, which drew inspiration from OM's logo. This saw us decorate the coffee house with bold purple tones, which stood out against the bright white walls. Leaning into the youthful and playful vibe the client desired, we used soft pastels for the shop front, furnishings, and window decals.
Giving The Magic Bean an added air of whimsy, we adorned the walls with vinyl stickers; comprising of butterfly wing decals and a balloon cluster graphic, which doubled as entertaining photo opportunities for customers. In keeping with the brief, we designed a beanstalk-style wall as a gallery space for children's artwork.
The activity room, which we sectioned off with a full-height glazed wall, has provided kids with a unique space to safely explore their creative side and interact with each other while still being in full view of their parents/guardians. Appealing to the explorative nature of children, we customised this area with a selection of sensory play items, including whiteboard and blackboard walls and an interactive touch screen. The finishing touch was the cosy book nook, which has proven perfect for book readings offered by the adjacent Waterstones.
Go see for yourself!
The Magic Bean Coffee Shop
86 High St
Solihull
B91 3TA
Katie Washbourne | Ordinary Magic
“From start to finish HS Creative used their amazing creativity mixed with our vision and supported us in making our dreams a reality. Their whole design process was easy”
