The Art of Bartending competition
I started out my research process by initial brand research. Firstly, I found out what the range of products I was allowed to work with in the Beam Suntory range. These consisted of “Jim Beam, Jim Beam Black, Makers Mark, Knob Creek, Basil Haydens, Bakers Bourbon, Bookers Bourbon, Legent.” And the Suntory brands like “Hibiki, Yamazaki, Hakushu, Roku Gin, Haku Vodka, Toki Whisky.” I then look at how these are branded to influence the style of my presentation to create something that will reflect the brands personality. I looked at how these products were placed and advertised and made note that each item when showcased is displayed as a single drink next to its base spirit. This is something I feel that I can incorporate into the design layout for the book. I think that this will really help the beam products stand out of the drinks as the hero elements.
Next, I started researching other cocktail books, and how they are laid out to present their drinks, recipes and history. I began with closely looking over my mentor Joe Schofield’s novel “Fine and Classic cocktails (2019).” This recent publication gave me a huge insight into what the contents of the book should look like. Then I started branching out into other books to discover what was common amongst cocktail books. And I found in “Liquid Intelligence by Dave Arnold and “The Craft of the Cocktail by Dale DeGroff.” they both use close up photography of the drinks themselves with accurate recipes. I think to make my book unique it will have to have something that I do differently to the books I have researched. How I aim to set it apart from the rest is through photography on not just the drink but by showcasing different venues around Perth. I want to have a few drinks championed by different bars in the city, and I want to have hand illustrated preparation tips on how to make them.
After this I started looking at the target audience. Who is this book intended for? Who is going to find it useful to pick up and read? I think that originally this book was intended for young bartenders who are looking to make a good start in the industry, helping give them the tools they need to give it their best shot. But through experience bartending I’ve found that some of the people who are most interested in how cocktails are made are elderly retired people who come sit at the bar and watch how you make different drinks. So by this means I don’t think that we can disregards the audience of people who would want to read it to simply get better at making drinks at home. Due to this I have created 3 target audience personas. One in their late teens early twenties getting started in the industry. For this person they are most interested in learning the trick for preparation. Another persona that is someone in their late thirties who is more well versed with their cocktails and wants to learn the recipes for some new drinks. For this person they’d be more interested in the specs of the drinks and creative use of flavor. And a third persona who is retired in their late 50s and they are most interested in reading the history of the whisky’s and the drinks and finding out where they came from and how they are relevant in the modern industry.
I then started picking out a colour palate the would best represent the branding of the book. I chose to follow colours that are similar to that in the beam Suntory branding already as I think it would tie in well when I showcase their brand. I chose darker backgrounds with gold accents white text and cyan highlights because the dark rich colours have a feeling of luxury associated with them.
I then begun building mock up assets to include in the presentation. This included versions of what the page layout would look like. Using the examples, I researched to inform my designs I cocked up a spread that had the photo of the venue and the drink specs and history on one page whilst detailing preparation on the next. This style layout won’t happen for every page because not every drink requires learning a new technique.
The next phase of the project involves planning my time through a production timeline and setting goals for myself should it release on time. These goals will become key performance indicators (KPI’s) and will show the outcome or degree of success for the release. I’m optimistic that through thorough planning I can bring this passion of mine to life and while doing so I can help showcase some of Perth’s great venues in a way that will make the beam Suntory brand look really good. I believe that my time at university has given me the skills I need to set me up for success with this project and that the goals I have set for this project are well within reach.
