Oh'Brian's on the Green is a great bar and restaurant located on the HyattHills Golf Complex (but open to the public) in Clark, New Jersey. It has the relaxed atmosphere of your friendly local sports bar with a buttoned-up twist of country club polish. The space is beautiful, with great outdoor seating, and - better yet - large chalkboard walls in the bar and dining areas which list the (many) beers they have on tap, featured cocktails, etc.
I was so excited that they asked me to come give their chalkboards some TLC - because the space is so beautiful and the chalk walls are a major focal point. Giving them the same polish as the rest of the place would really help to tie the look together.
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| I told you it was a long list of beers. |
We decided that because their beer list changes so often, I would create some cool, more permanent section headers and they would just fill in the draughts below. I wanted the titles to draw inspiration from vintage beer and whiskey labels (seemed appropriate). Bold block text and delicate graphic flourishes would do the trick. Because the walls are so large and the details are so small, I sketched out both a large, general spread as well as smaller, more detailed thumbnails for each of the walls.
Then came the production. It spanned two days, in the early morning before business hours (it was still dark when I came in to do the larger of the two boards!) I'm so happy with the way it turned out. The handdrawn letters say "we don't take ourselves TOO seriously," but the design gives it the polish it deserves. And now the walls can be a focal point that do the beautiful venue justice!
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