Here’s a glimpse of a custom menu designed for the recently opened Create Gallery + Cocktail Lounge. This is an amazing new gallery located in Somerville’s Bow Market that features a rotation of exhibits by local artists and hosts 8 cocktails on tap created by favorite area bartenders. If you haven’t heard of it you should definitely check it out!
When these guys contacted me about this design project, they new they needed something for their new gallery & lounge but weren’t quite sure what. After talking through their initial thoughts – wanting some type of marketing handout that summed up their services that captured their cool vibe – it was time to brainstorm some concepts. They didn’t have any marketing materials designed yet to work off for style so I had to design something from scratch that they could then use to build other future marketing pieces off.
Design Concept
I decided to go with a double sided rack card for the menu. It’s easy to display, carry and offered the right amount of space for what they needed. I drafted an initial outline of what should be included for info and then moved on to the fun stuff – color, design elements, and images! The space has a rich, vibrant wall color of deep terracotta and the logo is a medium toned warm blue – these were such great colors to work with. I used tones of deep to medium orange mixed with medium to deep blues for the palette.
Art Direction & Imagery
CG+CL had a collection of photos but for the marketing piece to be perfect, we needed to get some serious shots from a professional. While designing the layout for the brochure I found several place holders that worked as samples for the final piece. I recommended they do a photo shot with a photographer of their choice and supplied them with a shot list… a potential wish list of things we could use for the brochure, but also that they could use in the future. Their photographer did a killer job getting the images we needed to capture their style while making the menu really POP!
Custom Background
I wanted to add some texture and pattern into the background and since this was a cocktail bar, I figured what could be better than some hand drawn cocktails scattered about. I loved the dramatic element that the textured pattern offered and in the end, it all came together perfectly!
Final Design
I loved doing this brochure – not only because it’s a cool new indie biz that showcases local art and serves tasty cocktails – but also because it allowed me to use a variety of elements to create something unique for them that they really needed and how well it showcased what they have to offer.