Rabbit Hole
Rabbit Hole is a restaurant and cocktail bar located in a historic building in Ottawa. This project focused on designing a website and brand identity that reflects the venue’s creative atmosphere while making it easy for visitors to explore menus and make reservations.
Role: UI / UX Designer
Project Type: Team Project
Project Overview
The goal of this project was to design a visually engaging restaurant website that highlights the unique atmosphere of Rabbit Hole while providing a clear and intuitive experience for visitors. The website allows users to explore menus, discover different bar experiences, and easily make reservations.
Branding & Design Direction
The visual identity for Rabbit Hole was inspired by the restaurant’s historic interior, creative cocktail culture, and the playful “rabbit hole” theme. The design combines earthy tones, vibrant accent colors, and elegant typography to reflect both the character of the venue and the imaginative atmosphere it offers to guests.
The branding direction focuses on creating a balance between sophistication and curiosity, allowing the website and visual identity to feel immersive while still remaining clean and easy to navigate.
Moodboard
The moodboard helped establish the overall visual direction of the project by exploring textures, colors, and imagery that reflect the Rabbit Hole experience. Inspiration was drawn from the restaurant’s interior materials, cocktail presentation, lighting, and the playful mystery associated with the “rabbit hole” theme.
Wireframes
The wireframes explore the layout and structure of the Rabbit Hole website’s menu page. This design focuses on guiding users through the dining experience by first showcasing the restaurant’s food and cocktail offerings and then leading them toward the reservation section as they scroll through the page.
The left side highlights the menu grid where visitors can browse dishes and drinks, while the right side represents the lower portion of the same page where users can quickly make a reservation after exploring the menu.
Logo Design
The logo design for Rabbit Hole centers around the concept of a rabbit (jackalope) emerging from a rabbit hole, symbolizing curiosity and discovery. The design aims to capture the playful identity of the restaurant while maintaining a clean and recognizable visual mark that can be used across branding materials.
The final logo balances simplicity and personality, allowing it to work consistently across digital platforms, menus, and promotional materials while still reflecting the unique character of the venue.
Reflection
This project provided valuable experience combining branding, UI design, and website structure into a cohesive digital experience. It reinforced the importance of visual storytelling and intuitive navigation when designing websites for hospitality businesses.