Unforgettable cocktail menu for an otherworldly speakeasy

ATMOSPHERE is a cannabis brand and speakeasy venue in Chattanooga, Tennessee, built around art as a core experience. For their speakeasy launch, we designed a cocktail menu that doubles as a roadmap for the night — guiding guests through an otherworldly adventure. Creative direction: Alma Ayala; ATMOSPHERE Team leadership: Matthew Nathaniel and Justin Bishoff.

Griffith Observatory's original ironwork doors which feature seven different astronomical instruments.

I translated these symbols into contemporary marks that are used throughout the brand.

These symbols are used individually as a graphic language, or together as a unique brand pattern.

Side by side view of two cocktail illustrations facing each other.

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About the project

The creative team at ATMOSPHERE requested a menu that had the feeling of schematics, pulling in a visual language inspired by outer space and astronomy. The venue is a one-of-a-kind experience in Chattanooga, so the menus needed to feel as special and intentional as the space itself.

Detail photograph of the Saline Daydream illustration which els like a black and white line drawing.

The solution

The Apollo 11 flight plan became the touchstone for this project — the idea that a cocktail menu could read like spacecraft schematics, each drink a customizable destination. To bring that feeling to life, I explored a range of illustration styles before landing on a hand-drawn approach that felt both technical and human.

Side by side image of the Apollo 11 Flight Plan and the first draft of the menu featuring a colorful illustration style.

Sketches of cocktails in different styles. Some are colorful, some are black and white, some have screen textures.

Results

The finished menus marry hand-drawn illustration with schematic typographic layouts, reinforcing ATMOSPHERE's identity as a space where cannabis and fine art converge, giving guests something worth lingering over before they order.

Detail view of an illustration of a cocktail in a collins glass with an orange wheel sitting on top of ice.

Flat lay overview of ATMOSPHERE's cocktail menu and wine list. The cocktail menu features hand-drawn illustrations and the drink ingredients.

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Unforgettable cocktail menu for an otherworldly speakeasy

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