Of coffee and ice hockey: Angel & Anchor’s retro identity for the World AeroPress Championship 2022

After a two-year hiatus, the World AeroPress Championship returned in 2022. Each year, the final is held in a different city globally, with the competition’s theme being location-based. With the 2022 event’s final being held in Vancouver, Canada, the Championship appropriately embraced an ice hockey theme, designed by Belfast-based branding studio Angel & Anchor. Their task was to design an identity that not only captures the country’s love of high-stakes competition, but also celebrates the playful community and cult appeal of the coffee-maker. To build a language tinged with a bit of nostalgia, the studio looked to Olympics branding from the ’80s and ’90s, and the aesthetics of retro sports culture. “We explored competition and sport concepts which we could reinterpret through this unique coffee competition,” Founder & Creative Director Ben Connolly tells us. “Ice hockey seemed very appropriate because it felt truly ‘Canadian.’ The US has ice hockey of course, but they also equally celebrate NFL, basketball and baseball.” From looking at the ice hockey world, the studio expanded their investigation into the wider world of the Olympics. “We loved the vibrancy and eccentricity found in the event logos, the national team tracksuits, the hairstyles, the eyeshadow and the grade of photography,” says Connolly. “There was a certain essence that could be captured and filtered through the unique spirit of the World AeroPress Championship.” Patches, pennant flags, arena signage, posters, and ephemera all provided inspiration for the spiritful typography and illustrations.