New bar and vinyl transfers

In my guise as a Graphic Designer I took on the job of doing all the signage, marketing materials and menus etc for a new bar that was to open in the west end of Glasgow in July this year; only problem being the place had to be renovated and ready to open within a three day period, no mean feat! You can see how it looked before the refit below:

How it looked brofre the refit

One of the main aims of the refit was to make the place look more like a bar, the building had originally been a bank and the frosted panels lining the stairway and mezzanine level suited it's previous incarnations as various restaurants but for a bar we thought it had to have a more intimate and informal look. So the plan was born to cover these panels with black vinyl with a repeating pattern of vines to complement the new wallpaper.

With the other signage being installed over the three days it fell to me (and my trusty vinyl cutting plotter) to do the panels. the vinyl was prepared almost like wallpaper, with long strips that I'd pass through my cutter which would cut the pattern out ready for me to weed out the unwanted parts, I'd then transfer the strips to the panels making sure they were aligned so the pattern was continuous; so 15 metres of vinyl and three 18 hour shifts later the place was ready! Huge job but i think it makes all the difference to the feel of the place and I especially like the fact that as the pattern is cut out and not stencilled or printed on the frosted glass shows through the vines so when the sun's out it shines through these parts while being blocked by the black vinyl parts. below are some photos of the new bar and some of the external signage and beer menu. NB All photography in this post is from John Linton at Lintonpix (apart from one obvious amateur attempt from me!)

For anyone within visiting distance the bar is called The Long Way Home and specialises in the world's most misunderstood spirit - Gin, with over 25 different varieties of gin and geniver available and a great gin based cocktail list. It also has a "strange and unsettling" beer selection (the manager's words not mine!) with a lot of lesser known beers including some from the Flying Dog Brewary in Maryland, various Belgian varieties and also is the only bar in Britain with Delirium Tremens on draft (known by many by the pink elephant on the label, which might have something to do with the pink elephant that can sometimes be seen in and around the west end!) Another speciality of the bar is the regular tastings nights - two course meal followed by a gin, rum or beer tasting, see their facebook page for more details. Ok, plug over!

If you do go...beware the pink elephant!