A Coffee Drip Box, Mapped
Drip-donate — a limited-edition coffee released in October 2024 with Cherkasy outlet 18000 and roasters AboutCoffee, in which the city's cartography became the central packaging element.
When AboutCoffee proposed creating something special for Cherkasy in October 2024, the idea of maps came to mind immediately. Together with the local outlet 18000 and roasters AboutCoffee, we released a limited-edition coffee in which the city’s cartography became the central design element. The map data comes from OpenStreetMap contributors and from my own cartographic projects reconstructing the old Dnipro riverbed.
From the first sketch to the finished product, the work went through several iterations, with Oleksiy Fialko taking on every question of packaging production. The most rewarding part is that these coffee boxes helped raise funds for our defenders. For me this was a chance to bring together my love for cartography, my hometown, and the wish to help those defending our land — design becoming a bridge between people and good deeds.
“Drip-donate is an immense love for our native Cherkasy and for everyone now defending Ukraine on the hottest frontlines. Cartographer Fedir Gontsa and designer Alyona Dieieva helped bring it to life and poured in so much warmth and care, so that ‘Khreshchatyk Lights,’ ‘City Lighthouse,’ ‘Road Home,’ ‘Dawn on the Dnipro,’ and ‘Cherkasy Sea’ would carry you back to your roots, help you catch every flashback of a past life, and remind you that a piece of Cherkasy is always close to your heart and soul,” — as noted on the AboutCoffee page.
All proceeds from this limited-edition drip coffee go toward our fundraiser of 2.4 million hryvnias for drones, electronic warfare systems, and other equipment needed by Cherkasy residents serving in the Armed Forces. The campaign’s slogan is “Drip-donate: every drop matters.” The wonderful project photography was taken by Vadym Sapatrylo.
This project is a fine example of how cartography can find its place in entirely unexpected formats. The maps proved remarkably natural for coffee packaging design, creating a visual story of the city that you can hold in your hands.
QGIS project
Color variation
Coffee Drip Box by Oleksiy Fialko
Photo by Vadym Sapatrylo
Photo by Vadym Sapatrylo
Photo by Vadym Sapatrylo