Swank n’ Swine
restaurant and whiskey bar
2017
Rebranding
In downtown Portland, guests entering the Paramount Hotel lobby found Swank Restaurant on the left and Swine Moonshine and Whiskey Bar on the right.
Surrounded by some of the city’s best dining, the paired restaurant and bar needed a distinctive presence to stand out.
Swank
Restaurant
Swine
Bar
Priding itself in a farm-to-table focused menu that changed
as often as the weather.
A “moonshine and whiskey bar,” Swine boasted one of the largest whiskey collections in the city.
located in downtown Portland, OR
In the Paramount Hotel at SW Park and Taylor, nestled between Director’s Park and Portland’s green Park Blocks
Swank Restaurant
Art Direction, Photography
Before
The restaurant menus needed a refresh to match the sophistication of the dishes leaving the kitchen.
Because the chef updated the offerings daily, dinner menus in multiple formats had to be reprinted and trimmed to size each afternoon before service.
image from Yelp
AFTER
Art Direction, Design, Photography
We simplified production by resizing the paper to reduce trimming and better suit the wooden boards. Since the menus were fastened with a magnet, we adjusted the text to sit neatly within the final frame.
With the dinner menus resolved, we carried the refinements through the rest for a cohesive set.
dinner menu
libations menu for cocktails,
beer, and wine by the glass
wine list
SWINE MOONSHINE
& WHISKEY BAR
Art Direction, Photography
Before
Swine Moonshine and Whiskey Bar needed a proper menu to showcase its extensive backbar.
The original clipboards left pages stained, out of order, and constantly in need of reprinting — hardly the impression of a serious whiskey destination.
images from Yelp
AFTER
Art Direction, Design, Photography
We redesigned the menus from the ground up.
Partnering with local craftsman Hankbuilt, we commissioned custom wooden clipboards, then worked with Tanner Goods to add custom leather tops that kept the pages secure and orderly. To weave in character, we included vintage pig-and-whiskey themed cartoons that reinforced the bar’s story.
Website
Before
The original website was clunky, visually unappealing, and not optimized for web or search. Poor photography and confusing navigation left it struggling to attract visitors, averaging not even 400 sessions per month.
AFTER
Art Direction, Design, Photography, Copywriting, Web Development
Through a complete creative overhaul — fresh photography, clear messaging, a streamlined user experience, and a modern design system — the site was transformed into a compelling digital presence.
Within the first month of launch, traffic increased tenfold to over 4,000 sessions per month. Within six months, it achieved first-page Google search results for “Portland whiskey.”
Gallery
Art Direction, Photography
