Sleepwalk
Illustrating a Brand Between Dreams & Coffee
There's something about that space between sleep and waking — everything's a little soft, a little strange, a little more interesting than it should be. That in-between feeling is the whole idea behind Sleepwalk, a coffee and BBQ food truck parked alongside a high-end motorcycle shop in Bellingham, Washington. We built their identity, illustrations, and brand system from scratch.
The Identity
We drew from vintage coffee can lids and retro beer packaging to create a circular emblem that feels nostalgic but not dated. The mint-green and Night Blue palette gives it a dreamy, slightly off-kilter quality that fits the name.
And then there's the skeleton. A skeleton in a teal bathrobe, sipping coffee, perfectly content. It's a little macabre, a little cozy, and it captures the brand immediately — that half-awake feeling where everything is fine and nothing quite makes sense yet.
The Color System
The palette does a lot of the heavy lifting. Night Blue and Black give the brand structure, while Summer Apricot, Coconut Cream, and Fringy Flower keep things soft and warm. Together they hit a tone that's hard to pin down — a little retro, a little dreamy, awake enough to feel intentional. The kind of colors you'd see in a good morning that started slow.
Messaging
The taglines work like mini posters. "Good Day!" in Night Blue on Summer Apricot. "Coffee Worth Walking For" paired with the skeleton. "Up Your Morning Game" and "Enjoy Mornings Again." They're simple, warm, and a little funny — each one a self-contained piece of brand storytelling that works on a mug, a tote, or the side of a truck.
Typography
The logo is set in Carters Regular. It's distinctive enough to read at a distance and quirky enough to match the brand's personality. Brewisten Regular handles headings and accents, adding a complementary weirdness that keeps things from feeling too polished.
Illustrations
The skeleton character does most of the storytelling — drowsy, content, coffee in hand. But the illustration system goes deeper than a single mascot. A skull resting in the grass, a repeating slipper pattern, small moments that build out the world of the brand. Each one extends the Sleepwalk feeling into different formats, from business cards to tote bags.
The Full Picture
The finished identity gives Sleepwalk something most food trucks don't have: a world. It's cohesive enough to feel intentional and weird enough to be memorable. A coffee and BBQ truck next to a motorcycle shop in Bellingham that somehow makes perfect sense — like a good dream you don't want to wake up from.
