Design Challenge and Design Ideas

An Pucan pub also has the largest social media following of any bar in the world and is a hub for tourists and locals alike. With their stage being the focal point of the pub the client wanted to create a strong brand presence through an interactive art piece. This created an opportunity for the brand to interact directly with their customers and the client was particularly focused on having elements that were instagrammable. The client wanted the piece to be both functional and serve as a call to action, encouraging customers to interact with the piece. The client also wanted to showcase their two newly released whiskey blends. Not only did they want to promote the brands but they wanted the actual whiskey liquid to be a major element to the installation. This posed several challenges due to the inclusion of electrical and wooden elements in the installation.

How the brief was fulfilled

Jameson approached us to create an installation in An Pucan bar and restaurant in Galway City. The brief called for an engaging and functional installation that would create a social media sharing opportunity while maintaining and showcasing the Jameson Caskmates brand. This was achieved by creating a photo opportunity with a black leather bench that when lowered switches on LED lights that showcase the Caskmates brand. The core materials of the installation, wood and copper, are also central to the Jameson brand and reinforce the deep history and manufacturing processes of the brand. The outer barrels, flanking the bench, are filled with actual Jameson Caskmates and are suspended off the wall. The colour palette is rich and warm – wood, copper, and the whiskey itself are set against a red brick wall. The word JAMESON is made of wood and copper piping. Underneath the copper cage there is an illustrated story of how the Jameson company was set up.
We designed the piece to have the Jameson logo sit above the rest of the installation so that it would never be obstructed by people or bands. The depth of the installation was limited by the clearance of the projector screen coming up and down in front of it, thus the piece protrudes at different depth depending on location on the wall. All elements were designed to appear protruding from the wall to create a surreal aesthetic.
All wooden parts of the installation were CNCed and hand assembled and finished prior to delivery and installation. The 2 suspended barrels are holding 30 litres of Caskmates whiskey each in sealed containers hidden within each barrel.
The drop down bench is upholstered with black leather and finished with metal studs to imitate classic bar furniture. The bench posed its own challenge as it had to hold a combined weight of at least 450kg while being horizontally suspended off the wall with no vertical support underneath. Chemical anchors and heavy duty hinges enabled us to solve this design challenge and attach the unit to the wall.
A frame of decorative copper piping ties the whole installation together from the logo down to the barrels imitating the distillation process while also hiding all the electrical components.