The Banyan Tree Lessons

When Hailey called me to do her logo, I was ecstatic. She has been talking about it for a while and she worked so hard for it, and when she told me she was ready for her logo, it was exciting news to me. It meant that her dream was finally coming true and I was going to be part of it.

I am fairly new to the world of Kava, but Hailey has had her experience with it and I think this Kava bar will be a hot spot in the Redington Beach area. Hailey Rank is such a beautiful soul and I am happy to call her my friend. In 2024, I lost my home to Hurricane Helene. And you know what? Hailey was there to bring me snacks, and some shirts. She was there when I was taking all of the wet stuff out of my property.

Like I said, I am fairly new to the world of Kava but I know that my favorite way of drinking a good shell of Kava, is with chocolate… Extra chocolate. Yes, I am a little picky with the earthy flavors of it. If you never had it before, Kava taste earthy, which is not bad, but not exactly for me. Some people mix it with other flavors such as vanilla, chai, almond milk, etc. and like I said, I like it with chocolate.

One day, she learned that I was crying because I wanted a chocolate Kava - I am pretty sure I was just emotional with everything that was going on with the Hurricane and losing literally everything overnight - but still, I was emotional and crying like a pregnant woman would if she doesn’t get that extra one sprinkle on her ice cream.

Have you heard that saying of - some heroes don’t wear a cape”? Well, this time, my heroine was bringing me a chocolate kava to my hotel.

I recieve a text asking me for the address of where I was staying, it was Hailey. When I meet her at the lobby she was carrying a chocolate Kava drink for me and a beautiful quartz stone I still hold. Yep. I fell in love with her! She got my heart. For the record, you will fall in love with her too. She’s just a ray of sunshine. Her smile and her energy, energizes any soul she approaches.

Thank you Hailey, for being such a beautiful friend and being part of my story.

They Got Stickers!

How cool to see your work printed and still look AMAZING!

The Banyan Breeze Kava Bar will open soon! You can follow their page to stay up to date with their brand.

As a Designer…

My mistake was when I let my emotions take control of my creative process. As a friend, I was ecstatic, but as a business owner, I failed to follow protocol. Here is what I learned.

Assuming vs. Asking

I mentioned before that we had talked about this Kava bar for a while. She often shared her dreams and vision for it, and I regularly asked about recent updates. Over time, I assumed I knew everything about the brand—so much so that I skipped my usual discovery questionnaire. That was a mistake. Here’s what I learned:

Just because you know the person doesn’t mean you know the brand.

Build your discovery process. A business is a separate entity from the individual behind it. Your design will not be based on your client. You brand design will be based on research, interviewing process and feedback.

Interview. And interview again, if needed.

Between the business owner and you—the designer—the soul of the brand is born. But it takes work. When you interview your client and actively seek feedback, you avoid injecting your own biases into the project. Which can happen with emotional based brands. So watch-out for your emotions. And follow your guidelines.

Bias and expertise are not the same thing.

When I refer to bias, I mean our personal preferences—what we think looks beautiful or would work better—versus what the client truly wants. Emotional branding is powerful, but it requires a careful, strategic approach.

Our role as designers is to guide clients through those emotions to make decisions that are not only aligned with their vision but also strategic and audience-centered. Clients are asking for their emotions to be translated into visual form. Our job as brand designers is to mediate, interpret, and channel those feelings into a design strategy that delivers meaning, connection, and impact.

The Banyan Breeze is a Kava Bar opening soon in the area of Redington Beach, FL. To stay up to date with their opening date, please follow them here.

By Carmen Escobar - Friday August 22 2025 - Kustomee Blog