Design is the single most defining element of our coffee places' "identity". The most important design elements are still used in the newest coffee places, ten years after sfcc was created. The concept drawings for our first location were inspired by the materials used for building ships, namely wood and steel. Shipping played a central role in the "Old world" coffee culture and add a romantic and exotic aura to coffee. Even the original drawings for the central element of each coffee place, the espresso bar itself, refer to the shipping tradition; this long, sleek mahogany element with steel trim resembles a powerful, modern regatta yacht. Three broad stripes consistently repeated themselves in the technical plans for the first coffee place and later made their way into the san francisco coffee company logo.