STOW

STOW is a specialty coffee café, roastery, and distributor. They source some of the finest single-origin coffees in the world and roast them with precision, aiming to reveal the full character of each individual batch. From everyday specialty coffees to rare, hard-to-access gems, STOW’s mission is to restore coffee’s true identity, placing taste, origin, and craft at the center of the experience.

Existing STOW identity felt generic and lacked distinction, but it also offered a rare opportunity: a clean slate. The core challenge was to translate who STOW truly are. Not only as a brand, but as a café, a roastery, and a team. Their work is driven by a scientific mindset and a deep, almost obsessive relationship with coffee. Every cup is the result of experimentation, precision, and an ongoing pursuit of perfection. The new identity needed to express that mindset clearly and confidently, while remaining functional across a wide range of applications.

One thing was clear from the beginning: we didn’t want to lose the iconic STOW logo. It was the only existing element with real meaning and visual distinctiveness, and it already set them apart from competitors. Instead of replacing it, we chose to build the entire system around it.

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STOW approaches coffee with scientific rigor. Roasting, sourcing, and brewing are treated as processes governed by data, testing, and documentation. Our goal was to bring those hidden layer to the surface. To visually express precision, attention to detail, and the technical complexity behind each cup. At the same time, coffee is an inherently sensory product, defined by aroma and flavour. Since flavour is most intuitively communicated through colour, we knew that colour would need to play a central role in the system, carefully balanced with a restrained, utilitarian foundation.

The identity is built around a highly functional typographic system that defines the overall aesthetic. A monospaced typeface, basic symbols, and structured layouts draw inspiration from coffee roasting documentation, such as parameters, graphs, and extraction data, shaping a clear and process-driven visual language.

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While the foundation remains minimal and monochrome, flavour becomes the expressive layer. A colour coding system categorises coffees by flavour profile, helping set expectations before the first sip and working intuitively across packaging, menus, and retail environments.

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The system expands further for STOW Rare, a limited selection of exceptional coffees. Here, metallic packaging and a refined unboxing experience reference laboratory materials and signal precision, scarcity, and craftsmanship. Together, these elements reflect STOW’s philosophy: disciplined, scientific, and deeply connected to the sensory world of coffee.