Three Keys Coffee

With the design of Three Keys we wanted to depart from the usual American heritage tropes of craft coffee and instead create something with a language that was much more inclusive, energetic, and optimistic. Tio, the owner, has a background playing trumpet (hence “three keys”), and we found that we both were enthusiasts of music and jazz in particular. Working from this shared love of music, we found a well of inspiration in classic 50s/60s/70s jazz album art which attempted to render what an album or artist’s music feels like visually and capture the free thinking of the eras. We thought a similar approach would be perfect for Three Keys. Coffee, like jazz, is both a thing and an expression or act—a noun and a verb, if you will. We wanted to project that relaxed energy that can surround enjoying a coffee on a Saturday afternoon while listening to records and thumbing through some books. Instead of being presented with what Three Keys Coffee looks like, we hope potential customers will instead get an impression of what it feels like to drink it.