The more things change, the more they stay the same it would seem. In an increasingly globalized world, a common style or aesthetic emerged in the 2010s that took the coffee shop world by storm. Perhaps it was an inevitable outcome of a combination of factors: the emerging world of social media presence and marketing, the millennial penchant for coffee, and a pared-back look that appeared somber in the face of the Great Recession. Whatever the reason, we are left with a legacy of coffee shops worldwide that look more or less the same.
How did it happen? Click on the following gallery to find out.