How did Rice Studios build a living archive for Seoul’s CaféCité?

When Rice Studios first heard about CaféCité’s ambition to become more than just another Seoul coffee shop, they knew they were dealing with something different. Opening in early 2025 in Seongsu – a neighbourhood that’s traded its industrial past for trendy status – the café wanted to create a space where connections happen naturally. Not just between people and coffee, but between locals and visitors, between the area’s history and its future. “Back in September 2024, Rice Studios was briefed to conceive its identity,” Design Director Mark Bain explains. “There was a prevalent intention for CaféCité to spark discovery and curiosity in both the city in which it was located, and other urban areas around the world.” The resulting identity treats CaféCité as what Bain calls “a keeper of memories” – and Rice has built that concept into every corner of the brand system. At its heart sits a flexible grid that works like those old drawers you’d find stuffed with postcards, ticket stubs and random souvenirs from trips you can barely remember. It’s designed to hold whatever stories walk through the door. The masthead-inspired logo anchors everything with the presence of a city publication. Clean, recognisable, almost landmark-like in its approach. From there, Rice developed what they call a straightforward system – though straightforward doesn’t mean simple. “The primary elements are intentionally neutral, which allows for a diverse array of content – such as product and lifestyle photography and illustrations – to be contained effectively and clearly,” Bain notes.