IN-HOUSE

Esports Bar & Brewery

Senior Capstone Project 2022

Graphis New Talent 2023 Honorable Mention

In-House is an “esports bar & brewery” and the first of its kind. The inspiration for the idea came from a problem I observed within the esports and video gaming community: there is no phsyical space to encourage these primary online communities to flourish in-person.

When conceptualizing my capstone project, I knew that I wanted to work with branding and illustration; branding, because it’s something I enjoy and have a lot of fun with, and illustration because I’ve never created design work that revolves around illustration. Incorporating illustration into branding came with its own set of challenges, particularly with how to do so seamlessly. My solution to “what should I draw?” became my first dive into character design, where I created 5 different characters that each play off real-life tropes, jokes, and people in bideo games.

The result of this project was a playful, engaging brand that encourages esports and video game enjoyers, who are 21+, to gather in a shared space to talk about something they love while forming new connections. 

Blocky letters interweave amongst themselves, and highly structured shapes are softened by organic edges.

An important aspect of the type treatment is that it interacts with itself as well as the visuals around it. The handlettering came somewhat naturally to me once the illustrations were created; I wanted it to look natural within the illustrative beer can labels, but still be applicable to the rest of the brand identity. In the end, the treatment is playful, fun, and engaging.

“Hey! I play a healer, this guy is so cute!”

The Characters

The characters that I designed each have their own personalities, quirks, and roles that any video game player would instantly recognize. Because of this, there is an instant bond or attraction that occurs between a customer and the brand; customers feel like they are part of an inside joke, and can finally make references off-screen.  Walking into the bar and having the moment of “Hey! I play a healer, this guy is so cute!” was the goal of these characters.