Establishing Your Visual Identity

Does the internet really need another coffee montage?

Establishing Your Visual Identity

A friend of mine recently texted me and said “If I have to watch one more coffee montage on YouTube, I might pass away.”

It seems like it’s every creative’s right of passage to include their morning coffee routine somewhere in their content.

It’s something that’s been done quite literally a bajillion times on the internet - I’m sure you’ve seen it:

The steaming water being poured into the Chemex

The close-up drip, drip, drip of the coffee

The slow pour into the mug

The stoic yet righteous first sip

So why, after decades of these montages being done, do we continue to pump them out and include them in our content?

Well, because a) we all still drink coffee every day, and b) it’s a chance for creators to show something that everyone relates to, in their own style.

Establishing your voice, visual identity, and editing style to distinguish yourself from other creators takes years and many, many reps. But surely a Casey Neistat coffee montage would look drastically different from an Emma Chamberlain one, or a Wes Anderson one from a Christopher Nolan one from a Studio Ghibli one.

There are as many visual identities as there are creators in the world. Figuring out your own can sometimes mean taking an idea that has been overdone, but putting your spin on it.

So does the internet really need another coffee montage?

I dunno, has it seen yours yet?

Have an ELITE week,