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Northeastern Bevi co-op brings his design chops to the well-known flavored water company

Northeastern University design student Matthew Chavez Cruz is helping Bevi design logos and improve user experiences.

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Matthew Chavez pouring a taste test sample of a bevi flavor.
Matthew Chavez Cruz, a graphic design student at Northeastern, has been on co-op at Bevi, a smart water dispenser company, since January. Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University

Among the thousands of flavor combinations offered by Bevi’s smart water dispensers, Northeastern University student Matthew Chavez Cruz has a few favorites he enjoys rotating through regularly.

He loves mixing Lemon and Cucumber, and he’s a big fan of Strawberry Lemongrass. However, in recent weeks, his go-to flavor has become Strawberry Fields, a refreshing blend of strawberry and peach mango that Bevi recently introduced as part of its summer seasonal offerings.

It’s easy to see why Strawberry Fields has become one of his new favorites. Not only does Chavez Cruz love the taste, but the second-year computer science and design major also designed the new flavor’s logo during his co-op with Bevi this semester.

Blue and white t-shirts with the 'Bevi' logo on them.
03/11/25 – BOSTON, MA. – Matthew Chavez Cruz, a graphic design student at Northeastern, brings a marketing research test to Northeastern’s External Affairs office on Tuesday, March 11, 2025 as part of his co-op at the Charlestown based company, Bevi. Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University
The screen on the Bevi machine displaying several flavors of water, including 'Strawberry Sunshine,' 'Black Cherry,' and 'Lime Mint'.
03/11/25 – BOSTON, MA. – Matthew Chavez Cruz, a graphic design student at Northeastern, brings a marketing research test to Northeastern’s External Affairs office on Tuesday, March 11, 2025 as part of his co-op at the Charlestown based company, Bevi. Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University
Matthew Chavez Cruz and two other people standing around a table near a Bevi machine.
03/11/25 – BOSTON, MA. – Matthew Chavez Cruz, a graphic design student at Northeastern, brings a marketing research test to Northeastern’s External Affairs office on Tuesday, March 11, 2025 as part of his co-op at the Charlestown based company, Bevi. Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University
Portrait of Matthew Chavez Cruz.
03/11/25 – BOSTON, MA. – Matthew Chavez Cruz, a graphic design student at Northeastern, brings a marketing research test to Northeastern’s External Affairs office on Tuesday, March 11, 2025 as part of his co-op at the Charlestown based company, Bevi. Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University
Northeastern student Matthew Chavez Cruz has designed several logos for Bevi. Photos by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University

That’s just one of three logos Chavez Cruz has made for the Charlestown, Massachusetts-based company. He also designed logos for Cherry Mango Tango and Tropical Melon Mist. All three flavors will be available to Bevi customers and will start appearing on Bevi’s water dispensers in corporate offices, breweries, gyms, airports and car dealerships in North America

“It was really fun for me to go through that process,” he says. “I worked with a lot of the marketing team as well as the beverage team to get that done.” 

Since starting the co-op in January, Chavez Cruz has been hard at work helping the company create graphics and improve user experiences. But he hasn’t been limited to designing logos and labels. He’s also accompanying Bevi’s team of UX researchers on visits to customer sites.

During those visits, researchers conduct taste tests using potential future flavors, explains Emily Law, a UX researcher and designer at Bevi. 

“When we’re developing a new product, we like to get as much information as possible,” Law says. “We go to as many sites as possible that are excited to work with us and talk to them about what they are looking for.

“We do a lot of qualitative work like this, but we also do some quantitative market research. We like to partner with people who enjoy our product and try to find out more about what they are looking for.” 

But what do taste tests have to do with design?

A lot actually, Chavez Cruz says. Before he and his team went about designing the logos for the summer seasonal flavors, they had to taste them to get a grasp of what those designs should look like. 

“These [taste tests] really encompass everything, and I know eventually they will come back to help me as a designer,” he says. 

Matthew Chavez Cruz and two other people standing around a table with Bevi swag on it. On eof the people has a small cup that they are taste testing Bevi flavors from.
Taste tests help Bevi’s researchers collect valuable customer feedback. Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University

There’s one thing Chavez Cruz won’t take for granted after completing his co-op — the importance of staying hydrated. Since he started working at the company, he’s been drinking a lot more water, naturally, from Bevi machines. 

“I personally really enjoy the variety of products we release at Bevi,” he says.

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