Project Overview
Utopian Tailgate is a rooftop bar in the Old Town neighborhood of Chicago, IL. Located on the roof of the Second City, the Second City’s art department was brought on as creative consultants to create a concept and advise on the visual execution of the space.
Check out what folks have to say about the space:
Chicago Tribune • Chicago Magazine • Time Out Chicago • Chicago Eater
Utopian Tailgate was a finalist for Eater Chicago’s 2019 Design of the Year.
Details
Role
Creative Director, Production Artist
Duration
1 year, 3 months
Tools Used
Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign
Problem
The only requirement from The Second City and the fifty/50 Restaurant group is that they wanted the bar to have games.
My partner, Matt Roeder, and I took the suggestion and ran with it, collaborating to create 4 different bar concepts. Our personal favorite was “the perfect tailgate.” We wanted to take the stress out of bringing a cooler or making it to a game, and create a space to let people focus on making memories with friends.
ReSearch
Based on the client brief, Matt and I started with word association to craft the story for each concept and customer profiles for our target client base. Eventually, we landed on the phrase "Utopian Tailgate," the final concept and (to our surprise) the name of the bar.
Define
The next step involved rigorous research to determine what exactly a Utopian Tailgate looked like. We started big, working down from four 40"x17" mood boards to three 8.5"x11" pages.
From there, we created countless logo drafts, working closely with the owners to properly capture their vision. This continued as we received initial concepts from interior designers and architects.
As new collaborators hopped on board, we worked as brand experts and creative consultants; directing the vision and heightening the concept to what it is today.
