A yellow takeaway coffee cup with black lid, featuring the words 'Social Sixth' inside a black circle, on a yellow background.

Client

Sodexo

Deliverables

Concept visuals
Brand identity
Brand guidelines
Interior moodboards

A brand identity for 16 to 18-year-olds, built to compete with the high street and tested directly with the audience it was made for.

Social Sixth is a café brand created for independent schools, designed to fit within their existing social spaces. The brief called for a brand identity that could serve as the ultimate hangout spot for 16 to 18-year-olds, somewhere to grab great food and drinks, connect with friends, and genuinely feel at home.

A clear plastic container of Superfood Salad with fresh greens, avocado, and tomatoes, labeled with a yellow sticker containing product description.

The brand needed to reflect values around sustainability, health, and inclusivity, while remaining convenient and affordable for students. It also needed to strike a careful balance, cool enough to draw students in, but welcoming enough to keep them coming back, competing with the likes of Benugo, Costa, and Starbucks on the high street, rather than feeling like a lesser, in-house alternative. Some schools also wanted the option to white-label the café, so the brand needed to be flexible enough to accommodate this from the outset.

The various brand marks for the Social Sixth identity showing its responsive states
The various brand marks for the Social Sixth identity showing its responsive states

The brand idea centred around three simple ideas: Like it, Love it, Share it.

Like it speaks to feel-good, super fresh, tasty food, with bold, bright flavours from seasonal, responsibly sourced, and sustainable ingredients. Love it reflects the choice and convenience students expect, from exploring offers and menus online to ordering ahead and paying their way, all at a price that means they can come back again and again. Share it speaks to the space itself, a place made by students, for students, to catch up on life with their friends.

A woman in cream and white holding a yellow Social Sixth branded tote bag with black handles
An illustration of how the Social Sixth café could look in situ

Hand-drawn elements, including characters, doodles, and typography, were used throughout the identity to give the brand a playful, human feel, hinting at the kind of notes and doodles you'd jot down while studying. This helped make the brand feel approachable and genuinely made for its audience, rather than designed at them. Bold, bright colours were used to capture youth culture trends, giving the brand an energetic, expressive feel that could hold its own against established high-street names.

A student using a Social Sixth branded touch screen kiosk to order food at the café
The Social Sixth café design in Exeter school with the branded counter and POS

Ahead of launch, the concept was tested with a focus group of 20 students aged 16 to 18. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive with 90% saying that it felt like somewhere they’d want to spend time, and a space that was made for them. The brand has since launched at various sixth forms, including Exeter School.

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