Jocelyn Curry

Art & Joie de Vivre

Seattle’s Best Coffee Ice Cream: Lettering for Package Design

November 23, 2025

Did I need a deep plunge into a new blog site, right when such a time-consuming challenge really didn’t fit into my crowded calendar? The answer, no surprise, is “no” but at least I was able to navigate the mind-befuddling process of transferring the data from my old platform to this new, AI-enhanced version of good ol’ WordPress. My previous experience of working on good ol’ WordPress wasn’t stellar, so I’m hoping to improve my relationship with it asap. So far I have been able to upload my seasonally appropriate squash painting! But now, HOW do I get rid of “Hello World!” which was placed there by Good Ol. I’m not sure about this, but I think Good Ol’s default tips will stay on this, my First Post until I figure out how to discretely remove them without being told “This is not a good idea.” At least I got my squash up on this new site for your viewing pleasure! Happy Thanksgiving :-).

DSCF4860

The handsome, overall package design for SBC's ice cream line was created by Hornall Anderson Design Works in Seattle. I was hired to do the flavor names.

If you were to look at these cartons of ice cream, would you be able to tell that the lettering for the flavors was done all by hand? Probably not, as it has a polished, typographic appearance. The art director for this project wanted something more than straight typography for the flavor names on these pint cartons. Small flourishes on the letters, spacing adjustments, and just the right thick and thin balance on each letter created the subtle quality desired to evoke the message that this was a premium grade ice cream.

I began by drawing the letters in pencil, shaping them and finding the right weight. I then inked in the letters, working on them in a size about twice the size of the printed image on the cartons. The most fun part of this assignment was buying one of each of the flavors after they were on the market, and having an ice cream feast with my famiily.

Seattle's Best Coffee is now a subsidiary of Starbucks, Inc. The ice cream is now packaged under the Starbucks brand. One can assume that the ice cream is still outstanding!

Posted in

Leave a comment