DESIGN IS LIKE A CUP OF COFFEE ☕️

Design is like a cup of coffee, oft consumed absentmindedly, on the go, a comforting part of everyday life. Right?

Wait - you say, that is not what coffee is! Coffee is an art form, hugely personal, and involves a great deal of skill, knowledge, and work in order to get it just right. And then, ultimately, it is in its interaction with the person who brews it - be that a barista, or you yourself at home - that the final touch is added, the brewing method, temperature, and amount of beans chosen, a decision made on how it will be served.

So - you say, how is that ANYTHING like design? Coffee is a lovely, warming drink and design is - well something altogether abstract - is it not?

Recently, we had the chance to visit our friends at Nordic Roasting Co. in Copenhagen - a passionate team of specialty coffee roasters working out in windy Amager. We came for the coffee and stayed for the company. Or in other words, we came to taste the differently roasted beans, to learn more about the coffee brewing process and the know-how involved in small batch speciality coffee.
We saw how the beans were tested, selected, stored, roasted, ground, and packaged, found out more about Nordic Roasting's relationship with the coffee farmers and their vision for a sustainable and fair coffee production.

But - you say, what has all of this to do with your opening line? Design is like a cup of coffee - are we going to get to that any time soon?
During our tour of the facility, Francesco, our guide, was talking about the different types of beans and roasting methods - all of them producing slightly different types of coffee. About how coffee is at once sacred, precious, time-intensive, and special, but also an everyday companion, comforting, simple, and incredibly straightforward.

Design, in many ways, is similarly bipolar. Of course, as designers, we get excited about projects that allow us to explore, experiment, finetune and play. To compare 10 shades of the colour sage to find just the right one. To trial 3 printing processes to find the one that is the perfect fit.
But, more importantly, we aim to find the right way to communicate a message that fits your budget, constraints, and brand. It’s about delivering information efficiently and in a straightforward way that makes sense to you - and to your customers.
Design is an art form, hugely personal, and involves a great deal of skill, knowledge, and work in order to get it just right. And then, ultimately, it is in its interaction with the person on the other end of the communication - that the final touch is added, the message seen, read, and understood.
An everyday companion, commonplace and comforting.

If you have the chance, go try out Nordic Roastings' cosy little in-store café at Uplandsgade 70A, Copenhagen