In the 42 Coffee Roastery, coffee making is true alchemy, a crazy process of experimentation where the sky is the limit, whether it’s blends or graphic designs. Get to know the unearthly coffee universe of Máté Nezvál, which becomes complete and inimitable from the drawings of Aliz Buzás!
The 42 has been present on the stage of Hungarian specialty coffee for almost ten years, and anyone who has ever tasted their special aroma cavalcade will no longer be as happy with their simple coffee at home as before. The limit for them is literally the sky, as the whole brand, from the choice of name, through the use of words to graphics, is framed by a funky space theme. Spiritual nourishment for all this is the classic Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, in which the ultimate meaning of life is nothing but number 42. Anyone who has read the book, or has already set foot in Máté’s roastery, may be guessing that 42 Coffee is not a regular coffee brand. Although they do not joke about the quality of coffee making, a kind of positive madness vibrates around them. And the brand was deliberately distinguished from the (in Máté’s words) “megahipster, ultra-minimal” line that had dominated the specialty coffee front before.
However, the unparalleled universe comes with unparalleled visuality. From the very beginning, this is the responsibility of graphic designer Aliz Buzás, who has mixed all the feelings and moods associated with the 42 into a cheerful and very recognizable brand identity. “We started working with Máté in 2013. At the time, all I knew about it was that he wanted to make a coffee brand and that it would be good if it stood out with its cheerfulness and playfulness from the rest. I was given a free hand completely, which was fantastically inspiring. Since then, Máté and I have realized that we are equally crazy and that’s why we can finish each other’s sentences. I have no other client with whom working together would go so smoothly for so many years,” Aliz said.
Of the whimsical characters of the universe of 42, Grumpy Unicorn is the real star. “We put together our own mix for each of our customers. It was at one of these unique requests that Aliz first created the unicorn character, which I immediately fell in love with, and I told her I needed that character,” Máté shared with us. The unicorn has since become the brand’s mascot. It stretches on a giant poster in the roastery and it is also the face of the Signature mix, which changes from year to year, fully reflecting Máté’s current tastes. The exclusivity of the blend is given by the fact that its products are never sold, they can only be given as a gift or you can hunt for a tasting at different events.
“The visual identity recently went through a brand new facelift. As quite a few years passed and my view also changed, the whole brand identity changed whether we wanted it or not. This year, Máté made the decision that he wanted to age a little the graphics and move towards a slightly more pastel, simpler style,” Aliz told us. No one should worry, the “megahipster, ultra-minimal” line is still light years away!
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