Get to know three of the many incredible women working in coffee design: Sondos Saleem, Rachel Becker, and Linda Gonzalez.
BY EMILY JOY MENESES
BARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE
Featured artwork & photo courtesy of Sondos Saleem
Though often overlooked, art is such an important part of the world we live in. All around us, every single day, artists create the things that give our lives meaning. By providing us with beauty, color, and inspiration, artists are essential—and today, we’re highlighting three incredible woman artists working in the coffee field.
Sondos Saleem
Based in Egypt, Sondos Saleem has found a way to merge her lifelong passion for art with her career in coffee. After studying graphic design in college, Sondos started work as a full-time barista while developing experience as a freelance designer.
“(I) slowly started getting out of the bar and taking new tasks at the same (coffee shop)—taking pictures, making designs and paintings,” Sondos shares. “Then, I got promoted as a full-time content creator, working closely with coffee lovers and coffee professionals. I photograph, design, and illustrate about coffee, and I’m responsible for designing the National Egyptian AeroPress Championship posters.”
When asked what inspires her artwork, Sondos’ answer is simple: “What inspires me the most is nature, people, and of course, coffee.”
Click here to see Sondos’ amazing work for the National Egyptian AeroPress Championship.
Rachel Sotak Becker
A freelance graphic designer and illustrator based in New Hampshire, Rachel Sotak Becker has been designing in the food and beverage industry since 2021. She has worked with several coffee shops in the New England area, including Wayfarer Coffee Roasters for the Northeast Coffee Festival, Snowy Owl Coffee, and Revelstoke Coffee, using her skills to design posters, create logos and coffee packaging, and more.
Rachel’s designs are bold and bright, complete with a unique blend of geometric shapes and hand-drawn illustrations. And her café drink of choice? A matcha latte with oat milk.
Check out more of Rachel’s work at her website here.
Linda Gonzalez
Based in Los Angeles, Linda Gonzalez is the founder of Café Juayúa, a coffee shop through which she works with her family in Juayúa, El Salvador, to bring their coffee to the United States.
“As a third-generation coffee producer and visual artist, I create designs that capture the coffee farm origin story,” Linda shares. “El Salvador, our hometown Juayúa, and our family stories are the inspiration that goes into developing imagery for our unique block-printed retail bags, graphics, and logo. Each tells the story of the landscape, the people, our indigenous roots, and of course, coffee.”
She also shares how, through her artwork, she hopes to tell a story and educate people on the journey coffee takes to get from farm to cup. “Educating (people) about coffee is also a big part of what we do at Café Juayúa,” she explains. “Creating visual representations of the extensive and complex journey coffee beans take to get to your everyday cup has become a valuable tool in sharing that journey with our customers.”
Click here to follow Linda’s work through Café Juayúa.
Stay tuned for part two of this series, where we’ll highlight more inspiring women designers working in specialty coffee around the globe.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Emily Joy Meneses (she/they) is a writer and musician based in Los Angeles. Her hobbies include foraging, cortados, vintage synths, and connecting with her Filipino roots through music, art, food, and beverage.
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