In an interesting video by Quartz, they explore why coffee shops around the world look suspiciously similar – exposed wood, hanging lightbulbs, and a few plants. They explain the history of coffeeshops and how Starbucks first taught people that coffee could be something where you slow down to enjoy it. In the early 2000s, there was a design aesthetic toward original materials, authenticity, and rawness that was epitomized by a Brooklyn-esque vibe.
In 2010, visual social media launched (Instagram) that propelled this design aesthetic across the world, leading to coffee shops that featured these luxury-like attributes – avocado toast, coffee art. This led to the idea of “luxury minimalism.”
The video finishes by explaining that Instagram isn’t just shaping coffeeshops, but also entire neighborhoods as “mini-Brooklyns” begin to pop-up.
