Barista Bar brews up a challenge for NI’s future designers to mark ten-year anniversary

Northern Ireland’s Barista Bar is celebrating 10 years of serving communities by teaming up with the Ulster University Belfast School of Art & Design.

Local graphic design students have been tasked with creating a commemorative design for reuseable cups to mark the anniversary, as part of the students’ final year professional practice module - with the opportunity for the winning design to go into production to be sold online.

Barista Bar was established in 2015 by Henderson Foodservice, part of the Henderson Group, setting out to revolutionise coffee-to-go, and has now become a household name in Northern Ireland, with 450 locations and a rapidly growing presence.

This partnership is the first of its kind for Barista Bar and invites fifty students to design a cup collection that embodies the upbeat, playful and optimistic tone of the brand. Research has shown that real world experiences allow students to engage in their communities and further develop academic knowledge and skills for future employability.

Keavy O’Mahony-Truesdale, brand manager at Barista Bar (pictured second left, with students and course director Jill Spratt) explains why this is important: “This is a great opportunity for the students to gain insight into how important design and storytelling is for Barista Bar. This is the first collaboration of this kind for us, aiming to bring an opportunity to the next generation of artists, designers and coffee lovers.”

Winning designs will be chosen by the Barista Bar marketing team and prizes include the production of the winning cup design. The winner will also receive a year’s supply of free coffee and a hamper.