"yet most of them share the same visual DNA: white walls, raw wood, exposed brick, industrial pipes, dangling Edison bulbs, minimalist furniture, and plants used as decorative props. And Mumbai isn't alone in this; walk into a café in Nairobi, Bangkok, or Bali and you'll often find the same global starter pack waiting for you. At some point, you stop knowing whether you're in Mumbai, Copenhagen, or Melbourne. This is the template Chayka refers to as spaces engineered specifically for digital consumption; the Instagram-optimized café."
"At some point, you stop knowing whether you're in Mumbai, Copenhagen, or Melbourne. This is the template Chayka refers to as spaces engineered specifically for digital consumption; the Instagram-optimized café. There are several forces at play, many of which fall within cultural psychology and sociology. One explanation is that Western aesthetics have come to symbolize modernity, aspiration, and upward mobility. This aligns closely with Pierre Bourdieu's notion of cultural capital; the idea that people (or in this case, spaces) signal statu"
Cafés worldwide increasingly adopt a homogenized Western minimalist aesthetic characterized by white walls, raw wood, exposed brick, industrial fixtures, Edison bulbs, minimalist furniture, and decorative plants. Many of these spaces are engineered for digital consumption and Instagram visibility, producing interchangeable, globally familiar interiors. In non-Western contexts, such design choices signal modernity, aspiration, and cultural capital, creating subtle class boundaries that affect who feels welcome. The spread of a standardized café aesthetic reduces distinct place identity, weakens cultural memory, and diminishes a sense of situatedness in urban landscapes. Cities across Asia, Africa, and Latin America demonstrate these patterns.
Read at Psychology Today
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