Homeboy Cafe
A cafe concept for bringing communities together: thrifters, photographers, skaters, car lovers and coffee people, all under one roof as "homeboys". I designed the website and a minimalist design system for it.
Overview
Homeboy Cafe was my own idea: a cafe that's more than a place to get coffee. It was meant to be a home for all kinds of communities and hobbies, including thrifting, photography, skating and cars, where people come together and feel like homeboys.
The cafe itself never opened, but the brand and website design came to life as a complete concept.
The problem
Cafe culture isn't always as welcoming as it looks. Many cafes feel exclusive or made for one kind of crowd, so people with different interests don't always feel like they belong.
Homeboy Cafe was built around the opposite idea: a place where every community is welcome.
My role
This was my own project from start to finish. I came up with the concept and designed:
- The website
- A minimalist design system for the brand
Process
- Started with the idea: a cafe where different communities and hobbies meet.
- Set the direction: a clean, simple and very aesthetic website.
- Built a minimalist design system to keep the brand consistent and calm.
- Designed the website on top of that system, over about a month.
Key decisions
Welcoming.
The whole concept is about belonging, so the design had to feel open and inviting to everyone, not exclusive.
Clean and minimal.
A minimalist system lets the people, the communities and the photography be the focus, instead of the interface.
Professional.
Even as a concept, it was designed to look like a real, established brand.
Challenges
The project went smoothly. Having a clear idea of what the cafe stood for made the design direction easy to follow.
Status
A concept project. The cafe didn't open, but the website and design system are complete.
What I learned
Designing my own concept taught me to start with the feeling a brand should create, in this case belonging, and let every design choice support it. It also showed me that minimal design can still feel warm when it's built around people instead of decoration.
Let's build something
Tell me a little about your project and I'll get back to you.
Get in touch