Project Overview

Specialty coffee shop Julith opened its doors for the first time in August 2025, promising to level up Dubai’s already lively coffee scene. Helmed by Turkish barista champion Serkan Sagsoz, the cafe features exquisite coffees from around the world. Shortly after opening, Julith won a bid to procure the most expensive beans ever purchased at auction and served cups of the honey-like roast until supplies ran out. With an in-house roastery, specialized brewing stations, and an innovative milk processing system, Julith delivers on its vision of crafting some of the world’s best cups of joe. 

The cafe design features a muted industrial feel, using pale materials reflective of its desert locale with a handful of colorful pops. The largest and most attention-grabbing ‘pop’ is a cobalt blue Split Flap display mounted directly over the espresso bar. The display, along with bright yellow chairs and blue aprons worn by Julith baristas, makes the space a fantastic case study in interior branding. These colorful branded elements shimmer in the strong Dubai sunshine that pours in through the cafe’s massive two-story windows. 

Coffee Shop Use Case

Julith’s cobalt blue Split Flap display is unmissable. It dominates the space above the espresso bar, and white text pops out against the blue flaps and casing. It is a strong eyeball-magnet in the otherwise muted industrial interior. Beyond the simple design principle of contrast, Julith’s Split Flap display is an innovative piece of analog technology custom-made for a coffee shop setting. Poised as the unmistakable centerpiece, its gentle whirring and clacking are the beating heart of the cafe, while its text shares uplifting affirmations aligned with Julith’s brand values, representing the company’s soul.

Functionality And Customizations

Julith has a strong brand identity, with a bold blue-and-yellow color palette and an iconic series of three pictographic symbols. These elements are heavily featured throughout the cafe, but nowhere more prominently than in its centerpiece Split Flap display. Its sheet-metal casing and flaps are crafted in cobalt blue, and each rotating module features a solid yellow panel. In addition to the branded colors, the split-flap display features Julith’s iconic eye, waves, and star symbols as characters. These personalized touches enable Julith to present its messages on the Split Flap display in an aesthetic, branded way instead of simply as text. Layering artistic visual elements into the layout and design of branded copy is a key advantage of analog tech, which Judith puts to full use in its Dubai cafe.

Press and Media

Julith opened to much fanfare in Dubai’s bustling culinary and hospitality scene. Local food and beverage magazine Caterer featured Julith twice in its first week of business. One article praised their high-end, ritualistic approach to brewing, while the other celebrated their opening with a series of pictures highlighting the cafe’s interior design. The lifestyle and culture publication What’s On? wrote an article introducing readers to Julith and highlighting the Split Flap display as a key design element in the cafe space. The journal Hotel & Catering wrote a piece on Julith that also highlighted the Split Flap display and its branded affirmations and messaging. 

Images: Thank you to Caterer Middle East and Julith Coffee for the press images on this page.

FAQS

Can Oat Foundry ship internationally? 

Yes. Every Oat Foundry product is manufactured in our shop in Philadelphia, but can ship worldwide. Beyond Dubai, we’ve sent our products halfway across the globe (and further!) to Australia, Seoul, Shanghai, and beyond. 

Can Oat Foundry match my brand’s custom colors? 

Yes, Oat Foundry can customize its products to match nearly any color or color scheme to match your brand. All visible components of each Oat Foundry product can be customized, including the sheet-metal casing, the backgrounds of each flap, and the color of the text on each flap.

What does Split Flap sound like?

Split Flaps make a subtle sound when they rotate (compared to white noise), which can be reduced by setting the board to a lower rotation speed or increased by speeding it up. The sonic qualities can be made appropriate for pretty much any other setting. Read more about the relationship between sound and space in our recent blog post.