Vinoteket
Vinoteket Photography & Design
Menu design, illustration and food photography for a wine bar in Oslo. The food was serious. The menu didn't show it.
THE PROBLEM
Dense and hard to scan. Guests had to work to find what they wanted, and the kitchen read as more ordinary than it is.
BEFORE
The previous menu made guests work too hard. We simplified the structure so the food could do the talking.
AFTER
The new menu guides the eye naturally, easier to scan, easier to choose, easier to enjoy.
THE IDEA
We treated the menu as part of the room, not a list. The curved line through the pages comes from the restaurant's ceiling light. The food leads, the design steps back.
THE DECISION
We tried an illustration for every dish and dropped it. It only added noise. Illustration stays where it earns its place, photography lives around the menu.
THE RESULT
The menu now reads in seconds. Guests decide and order faster, which keeps a busy wine bar moving.
Atmosphere & Tone
The redesign doesn't just organize information, it sets a mood. Illustration softens the typography without undermining it. Section titles create confident hierarchy. Generous spacing slows the eye down in the right way. And the purple runs through everything, a quiet reminder of what this place is really about.
Illustration softens structured typography
Section titles create confident hierarchy
Generous spacing enhances calmness
Purple reinforces wine-driven identity
Spacial continuity
The curved stroke in the identity isn't decorative. It mirrors the ceiling light in the dining room, a detail most people won't consciously notice, but one that makes everything feel like it belongs together.
