In-House is an esports bar & brewery that I conceptualized to fill a need that I saw within a niche community. The need that I found was that there is a longing within the esports community to create connections in the physical world, and my solution was to create a space that invites conversation and shared activities for the semi-niche audience of esports enjoyers and video game players. This “esports bar” is the blend of the hyper-social and community-building sports bar and the isolated yet oddly inclusive space of esports.

For my creative process, I took to what I know: video games. As a person who enjoys the activity, I didn’t need to do too much research on the audience. I am fortunate to have my own in-person community of video game fans. When approaching this project, I had to consider how I would invite the target demographic to participate in this physical space. My solution was to play off popular phrases, jokes, and events within the community that would feel like inside jokes while not alienating others. Additionally, I wanted to create an inviting, playful, exciting, and ungendered space where the number one thing bringing people together was a love of video games.

The results of this project were spectacular. While I’m personally satisfied with the end result, since I am within the target demographic, I was very pleased to hear from many people that they wished for this product to exist in the real world. The design results were as follows: I created a series of characters that the audience could relate to because of their closeness to popular positions and personalities in video gaming culture. Because of this, everyone can walk in and point to a character that they resonate with in their own way, therefore engaging my audience with the brand as well as the physical space. These characters took up the cornerstone of my project results, as they provided the visual backdrop for the in-house IPA cans, the interior décor of the bar, the social media presence, and room for much more.