Today I think we have a lot of niche bests, including the best coffee materials for an international chain, the best stationery set for a Russian private investigator, and the best use of vintage devices for a photo lab.

7-Eleven Coffee Materials (Sweden)

I didn't know this but Sweden was not only the first European country to have one but it now boasts 190 7-Eleven locations. And they are all about to get a lot cooler. A new (yet retro) design by Stockholm-based BVD has been introduced for their coffee section, NOT for the overall brand — as many have been reporting. The new look that adorns coffee cups, napkins, sugar packets, and takeout bags has a great energy and although it's billed as being retro and reviving 7-Eleven's own graphic history it feels decidedly contemporary and fresh. It's no Greek-coffee-cup but this has the potential to become one of those iconic, everyday items. At least in Sweden. For now. (Wink, wink, 7-Eleven America). [More].

Y. Shorohov, PI

For private investigator Y. Shorohov in Russia, the clever folks at streetArt created a stationery that needs to be dusted off (or, more like dusted upon) to reveal the hidden information. Impractical and messy but awesome. [More]

Richard Photo Lab

For Richard Photo Lab in Los Angeles, CA, no visual device has been spared by Atlanta, GA-based Matchstic to make this identity ooze a vintage-classic-Kodak-style aesthetic. That's a compliment. The identity does a great job in feeling retro but with a very Swiss-like, 1960s-corporate-identity structure and approach. In my humble opinion: Best. Photo Lab. Identity. Ever. [More]