This post is a part of our Unexpected Sources of Inspiration series where we share how inspiration sometimes comes from the unlikeliest of places. I’m Jason, Head of Design at Plain Sight Ventures, and your friend in the design-nerd world. Feel free to reach out to me at jason@plainsightventures.co if you want to connect about design things or coffee or running or really just anything!
I’m currently in Montreal, QC strolling around what might just be the hippest neighborhood I’ve ever been in. Montreal’s Mont-Royal neighborhood feels like stepping into a Kinfolk spread filled with the most effortlessly cool creatives brandished with a laissez-faire sensibility and a deep understanding of curated chic.
Everything here catches your eye…from concert plasters to sandwich shops to metro signs. Montreal is a designer’s paradise that gives you a year’s worth of inspiration in just a few short walkabouts. Though I could wax design-nerd poetic about all the sights and sounds of Montreal and provide a running count of how many times I’ve actually said out loud “I could totally live here”, I’ll instead just briefly mention one unexpected design-forward coffee shop I stumbled into on my first day here.
Café Bravo is a coffee, records, and goodies shop from Bravo Music that somehow leans super heavily into retro 70’s Studio 54 vibes while still feeling totally contemporary and fresh. Their use of bright orange funk and Massimo Vignelli-esque typography grabs you from the street and pulls you into their little space of coffee music magic. I flipped through indie records, poked at merch from local artists, and just took it all in to save this inspo moment for some fun brand work down the road. And after walking back outside filled with the continuously groovy, imaginative spirit of Montreal, I once again declared…”Yeah, I could totally live here.”
