For nearly a decade, Zmmr™ has thrived at the intersection of artistry and strategy, crafting visual narratives that push brands beyond the expected. Their recent collaboration with Dark Matter Coffee reimagines the beloved Portfolio Blends—Unicorn Blood, A Love Supreme, Starry Eyes, and Machete—through a cosmic, sci-fi-infused lens, balancing bold innovation with the deep loyalty of longtime fans. With meticulous research, layered storytelling, and Raul Urias’ intricate illustrations, Zmmr™ transforms packaging into an immersive journey, proving once again that creativity knows no bounds when given the space to flourish.

By Jess Zimmer

1 – The Project

Dark Matter Coffee’s long-established core brands–Unicorn Blood, A Love Supreme, Starry Eyes, and Machete–make up the foundation of their Portfolio Blends and are diehard fan favorites. (If you know anything about Dark Matter, it’s that they are continually pushing the boundaries of coffee while still consistently nailing the classics.) After many illustrious years without a design update, these four coffee bags were due for a reboot. Cue the mind-bending, galaxy-hopping, sci-fi-centric, creative brief.

2 – The Process

Ever the visionary company, Dark Matter framed up the rebrand to Zmmr with a dual purpose: to captivate new customers with unstoppably beguiling visuals, and to retain their existing, loyal customers who had come to know and cherish their favorite coffee bean packaging. The cherry on the top–to make these designs a category disruptor.

Staying true to Dark Matter’s playful, unconventional spirit was another mandatory. So for this project, we did a deep dive into research. We developed rich stories behind each of the four blends complete with complex, layered visual references, out-there symbolism, and detailed color palettes. After identifying all these elements, we worked closely with artist Raul Urias to craft the intricate illustrations shown on the final bags. Every design element on the package ties back into the overarching portfolio story, that of a New World's Fair–a fantastical vision of the future of coffee and possibly, dare we say, the cosmos.

The Dark Matter ideology is rooted in an uniquely unorthodox, joyfully eccentric vision, which means every aspect of the brand, from line extensions to color stories, to illustrative subjects, needs to feel authentic to them. The Dark Matter customer will know if something doesn’t land on brand. This customer embraces the brand’s psychedelic, innovative, and collaborative spirit with wholehearted enthusiasm. As long as we infused that ethos throughout the visual storytelling and design execution, we knew we’d keep the fanbase happy (and appropriately caffeinated.)  

3 – The Impact 

After months of research, concepting, storytelling, and design, the electrically vibrant, metallic bags rolled out in a nationwide Whole Foods launch where they've been stocked ever since. Dark Matter brews the blends in all of their brick and mortar locations and sells online as well, where they’re committed to bending the minds of their devoted coffee drinkers. 

4 – The Creative Journey 

Zmmr is invariably excited to work on a project that allows creative expansion–where space is made by the client to let the magic happen. We recognize this isn’t necessarily always possible for a variety of reasons, but we also have been working in the industry long enough to know that when the unicorn presents itself, you hold on tight and ride it all the way to the end. And so it’s projects like Dark Matter that bring us the most creative satisfaction because the brief isn’t prescriptive. We know that we do our best work when we can dive deeply into the process where we blend artistry, strategy, and function, when we can really craft the whole vision holistically, taking every aspect of the project into consideration. This is where we find our creative abilities heightened and also when we experience the most growth in the work we deliver to the client. And inevitably, the client and project benefit as much as we do.

About Zmmr™

Enthusiastically coloring outside the lines since 2013.

Zmmr™ was birthed in 2013 by inquisitive co-founders (and husband and wife duo) Jessica and Jim Zimmer. After both had paid their industry dues working for companies that spanned large ad agencies to boutique design shops, they optimistically made the leap to start their own thing. Their design and creative direction has earned Zmmr™ national and international awards.

Social: Website, Instagram, LinkedIn