Cool Beans
A playful + creative approach to raising awareness for kidney disease.
Cool Beans provides encouragement to kidney patients and advocates in a playful environment with an approachable and encouraging tone. Helping them feel hopeful and ready to more fully embrace their unique health journey.
Chelsie Tamms working on Cool Beans logo.
I was officially diagnosed with Polycystic Kidney Disease in September 2019, but have had a long history of PKD in my family. I’ve watched my close family members experience and struggle through dialysis and transplants and feel all too familiar with the disease. It was my personal frustration with understanding a renal diet that sparked the idea for Cool Beans. What began as a restaurant concept and menu design quickly grew to a more comprehensive effort to raise awareness for kidney disease.
“Chronic Kidney disease affects an estimated 37 million people in the US and approximately 90% of those with CKD don’t even know they have it”
Cool Beans Restaurant Concept:
THE MENU
I partnered with Melanie Betz, a registered renal dietitian at UChicago Medicine to develop a menu. We decided to focus on those with kidney disease who do not yet have decreased kidney function. The ultimate goal with this foundational piece is to address the horrible feeling of “only being able to eat white rice” which many newly diagnosed kidney disease patients might feel when embarking on learning about all that renal diets entail.
DESIGNS + MERCHANDISE
SHOP MERCHANDISE
PRESS COVERAGE
PKD Foundation | Interview | “Spreading PKD Awareness Through Design” | Read it here.
National Kidney Foundation of Illinois | The Journey Continues Podcast | “Passion with Purpose” | Listen here.
Interested in featuring this project? Get in touch.
Fellow designers + small business owners:
Interested in creating a passion project of your own like Cool Beans? Enroll in The Power of Passion Projects Mini Course to learn how you can create a passion project around a cause you care about.
How you can help:
• Register to be an organ donor
• Feature this passion project
• Share the social posts
• Commission a mural
• Host a pop-up event
• Develop a renal-friendly menu item
• License artwork/designs
• Order wholesale products
• Sponsor continued development
• Propose a collaboration
Cool Beans is a Lettering Works for a Cause Passion Project.
All images shown were created from mockups by Mr Mockup.
All designs by Chelsie Tamms. © 2020