Coffee With Keri: The Story Behind the Brand

If you’ve been a reader for longer than two weeks (lol), you probably noticed something is different.

The layout, the color scheme, the title of this blog, the branding. It’s all new.

On my old site, I hinted multiple times that I was working on a project. I never officially set a launch date so behind the scenes, I worked on the new website but without a final deadline to officially make the switch.

Every month I set a few reasonably attainable goals. Since February, “Launch the blog” has been one of those goals. Yes, yes, I admit it. I procrastinated this for quite some time.

I’m a perfectionist, an Enneagram Type 1 if you’re into that. A Type-A, “it’s gotta be perfect” type person. In a lot of ways, I’ve learned to lighten up those high expectations and standards for myself and my work so that I don’t go crazy. The blog, for some odd reason, was the exception. It took forever for me to “lighten up.”

I wanted it to be perfect. I have never rebranded my personal brand and I didn’t know if it was “complete.” To be honest, it’ll never be complete. You should always learn, grow, change. If you’re the same as five years ago, you gotta reevaluate your life, ya know?

So, I did it. I officially launched it two weeks ago. I let the old domain expire and made the switch. I announced it on Facebook and it was done. Somewhat quietly, as opposed to making a huge ordeal over it.

One of the main reasons for making the rebrand was that I felt my old brand didn’t have a true purpose anymore. I started it in high school and it grew up with me. My old posts were about lessons I learned, moments I found funny, and reasons why I didn’t want to date in high school. Then when I graduated and started college, it turned into a lifestyle blog where I talked about college-related topics like studying and figuring out how to balance everything.

Then I graduated college and started my full-time job, and my content slowly shifted again. I realized one day it needed structure. When scrolling through my posts, there were a few main categories: Coffee, Health, Productivity, Books + Lifestyle (amongst a few others).

My awesome husband (fiance at the time) is a designer and an incredibly talented and creative person in general. He started creating the new website and I saw the rebrand take shape. Fast forward a year later, Coffee With Keri came to be.

See, here’s the thing. Whether I’m hanging out with friends, trying to relax, getting in the headspace to be productive, or reading my favorite book, I drink coffee. In college, I drank coffee while studying and preparing for big presentations. I love hanging out in coffee shops and exploring new brews. I wouldn’t call myself a coffee expert by any means but I do love the taste and have go-to orders at several coffee shops.

I wanted my blog to be an extension of that. The things I share here are the same things I think about while drinking coffee, the same things I talk about with friends over coffee. When you drink coffee together, you talk about life, favorite books, current favorites, lessons you’re learning, things God is teaching you.

Coffee connects people and is the center of many memories for me.

And so, Coffee With Keri is here. I finally released it to the world (so dramatic, I know) and I’m glad I did.

I hope you’ll continue to check back every Friday for a new blog post (and sometimes surprise content throughout the week, too). Grab a cup of coffee and stay awhile. Explore and enjoy.

And until next time, cheers ☕️