Steam Coffee Shop: rebranding & growth

A pioneer that started to blend in

Steam opened when specialty coffee in Bucharest was still a niche. A decade later the city had over a hundred third-wave shops, many borrowing the same minimal look Steam helped popularise.

The identity felt dated next to the newcomers, the social channels had gone quiet, and the brand's biggest asset, the people who gather there every day, was invisible online.

Craft Coffee, the equipment business run by the same team, sold professional machines through phone calls and visits alone, with no shop of its own online.

A full Steam interior with guests at every table

A full house on a weekday morning, with the team and the regulars who make it feel like home.

“Our guests love this place. We needed a clear way to say what Steam stands for.”
Founder, Steam Coffee Shop

Community, coffee and connection

We started by listening. Surveys and interviews with guests pointed to what they value most about Steam: the feeling of belonging. That idea shaped the brand, the content, the merch and the website that follow.

+184% Instagram engagement in six months, one of several results we delivered Drop for more

Branding& Design

The steaming cup guests recognise stays at the centre, now surrounded by a bolder typographic voice, a palette pulled from the shop itself and a positioning line the team can say out loud.

Customer research
Brand strategy
Brand positioning
Logo refinement
Logo lockups
Typography system
Colour system
Brand values
Tone of voice

Logo lockups for every surface, from cups to storefront

Black, blue and green, with grey as the quiet base

N27 as the single brand typeface

The brand idea in one line

Five values that guide how the team treats every guest

Growth& Content

The content follows the people. We shot the shop across a full season and built a posting rhythm around real guests, the team and the neighbourhood.

Content strategy
Photo production
Video production
Social media management
Instagram stories
Posters
Ad campaigns

Season reel and the moments it was built from

Instagramstories

New drink announcement story with latte art

Trust your local dealer illustrated story

Blue illustrated story: Let's coffee some more

In-storeposters

Poster: Community, coffee and connection

Poster: Happyness is part of our daily coffee routine

Photography

ProductDesign

An online shop that puts the Craft Coffee catalogue in front of buyers, and a family of illustrated characters that turned the brand line into T-shirts, cups and a limited 10th anniversary cup.

E-commerce website
Illustration system
T-shirt collection
Cup design
Packaging design
10-year anniversary cup

Onlineshop

craftcoffee.ro, a shop for professional espresso machines, grinders and brew equipment.

Visit craftcoffee.ro

T-shirtcollection

White T-shirts with an illustrated character

White T-shirts with illustrated guests at a table

White T-shirts with a cyclist illustration

White T-shirts with a group illustration

The T-shirt collection, one character per design

Two people in green Steam T-shirts sitting outside — Worn by the community around the shop

Printspackaging

Back print and takeaway cups

Within six months Steam's channels turned into a steady conversation with its guests, with all of the growth coming from organic content. Regulars wear the merch around the city, and Craft Coffee takes orders for professional equipment through a shop of its own.