The Old Oak Tap is a contemporary eatery that brings the outdoors in. The owners of The Continental bar saw a need for an alternative to simple bar food in Ukrainian Village and expanded on Chicago's ever-appetizing alfresco trend. The completely new restaurant is on a double-wide lot and sits far off Chicago Avenue giving way to a unique street level patio for dining day or night.
MCD was brought in early to craft a logo that would encompass these ideas and 'give some teeth' to the contrasting heavy oak timbers and contemporary elements used throughout the restaurant. It was also imperative to stay clear of cliches as this was not a hunting lodge or cigar bar as the name may imply.
Next on the list was designing an exterior sign that would really stop people in their tracks. This is where the 'teeth' come in: We couldn't resist designing a custom built cross-cut saw with an illuminated Old Oak Tap logotype. How cool is that!
The menu design had to make simple work of comparing a wealth of 'sharables' and tasty entrees. For durability and easy-updating we designed four pages that slip into a black menu-holder. Giant oak branches gave the page design an elegant and comfy border.
| Completion Date | August 2008 |
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| Related Links | The Old Oak Tap |
The website was also made-to-order. Extending many of the previous design cues we tried to keep the functionality of the site compact while maintaining an overall uncluttered look. We wanted to bring as much of the feel of the Old Oak tap into the site as possible with imagery and colors while making it easy to peruse a complete menu and view a gallery of pictures.