To mark twenty years of Lemon Yellow, we revisited the idea that started it all. Back in 2004, when we (Erika and Julian) first talked about working together, the plan wasn’t a design studio—it was a café. A place for the creative community to gather, share ideas and connect. The café never opened but the spirit of it stuck.

Yellow Lemon Café brought that idea to life, reimagined through who we’ve become. A pop-up café and exhibition in Miami’s Design District at The Moore, it explored how identity takes shape through conversation. Not a retrospective but a live experiment in the ideas that guide our studio.

At its core was the café, fully operational with curated coffee, pastries and seating. All furnishings were generously provided by USM Modular Furniture, whose work we admire (and use daily in our studio). We also partnered with local favorites like Graziano’s Group, Caracas Bakery, Liger’s! Cookies, Jojo and Arcane Estate for the pour-over coffee, a lineup that grounded the project in the city we call home.

Wrapped around the café was a visual identity applied to every detail: signage, menus, coasters, uniforms, merch, printed matter and spatial graphics. Design wasn’t just on display. It was in action.

The concept took cues from 17th and 18th century English coffeehouses, “penny universities” where public discourse thrived. Yellow Lemon Café echoed that spirit, hosting conversations on design in the district that defines it.

Visitors joined impromptu interviews and recorded discussions with voices from Miami’s creative community. Excerpts will appear in a printed catalog with full transcripts available online.

More than a celebration, Yellow Lemon Café was a living model of our approach—collaborative, layered, human. A space that didn’t just reflect our beliefs but lived them.

Project Scope

Brand Strategy / Visual & Verbal Identity / Art Direction / Storytelling / Packaging Design / Merch Design / Environmental Design / Website Design