Poe’s Pub: House of Spirits & Shadows

The idea was to create a “ghost brand” — a bar that didn’t actually exist, but felt like it could. Every design choice was meant to blur the line between fiction and reality: a hand-drawn raven crest, an ornate typographic logo, and an identity steeped in Poe’s signature themes of mystery, melancholy, and mischief. The tagline — House of Spirits & Shadows — became both a nod to fine whiskey and to the lingering presence of stories that never quite die.

The brand came to life through a full suite of visual and environmental design: custom signage, merch, a drink menu, and even a QR code mounted under the front window. Scanning the code led curious passersby to a secret landing page — a moody, candlelit “backroom” website teasing cocktails named after Poe’s works and whispered rumors of the house’s hauntings.

In a fun twist of art imitating life, the illusion worked too well: twice, strangers rang the actual doorbell asking for a table. The moment perfectly captured what the project was meant to prove — that storytelling, when done with conviction, can make people believe in something that doesn’t exist.

Poe’s Pub became a playground for creative experimentation — part design exercise, part social experiment. It demonstrated how branding can extend beyond visuals into physical experience, emotion, and curiosity. Whether approached as a pop-up concept or a proof of imagination, Poe’s Pub stands as a reminder: the best brands don’t just sell; they summon.