A Coffee Story - The Plus Paper

How Getting a Cup Inspired a Concept Coffee Store

We are still enchanted by Nikita Gill’s previous series Dreamscapes and Spirit Animals but with Coffee Story she stepped up to a completely different challenge. It’s a concept coffee shop, which Nikita has designed the branding for.

Nikita explained the inspiration: “I started this project when I was out shopping and saw a big brand coffee shop. I went in to get my coffee and thought, wouldn’t it be so nice if the coffee shop suited the street it was on. For instance, a coffee shop near a street like this with bookstores and antique shops should represent both somehow.”

That’s why Nikita dreamed up a whimsical coffee house that would reflect the character of the other businesses of the area she was shopping on that day. In designing the branding, she went for a minimalistic look, but at the same time creating design aesthetics that were not bland, but interesting and exciting.

We spoke to Nikita about more of her daydreams:

The Plus: Would you like to open a coffee shop?
Nikita Gill: I would love to. I think coffee shops are places where some fantastic energy circulates. Business meetings, personal encounters, make ups, break ups, first dates…Coffee shops have amazing stories inside them. I would call it the Purple Coffee House, because I think purple is such a fun and happy colour.

TP: Where would you like to open that coffee shop?
NG: I work part-time at a disabled college for young adults, and I’d love for there to be a coffee shop that was walking distance from the college I work at, where the young people I work with can relax away from college work for a while.

TP: What is the most important thing to make a coffee shop really good?
NG: Fantastic coffee, a kind owner, some great food and a generally jovial atmosphere.

TP: What is your favourite place to get coffee at the moment?
NG: Harris and Hoole are amazing. They have great coffee, talented and wonderful staff, generous with their servings of food and have the most awesome typography I have ever seen for a coffee shop.