What if you took a Cosmopolitan magazine-like quiz about your favorite color only to have someone hand you a fancy cocktail at the end? Thatâs the experience visitors to Fitzâs Bar in London can look forward to thanks to this clever drinks menu.
Designed by Rivington Bye and produced by our good friends at Printsmith Productions [projects / website], the menu boasts a cover that gives nothing away.
The first thing you notice is a mysterious Die-Cut circle at its center. Itâs only when you shine a UV light across it with the accompanying âblacklightâ pen that things get interesting. Thatâs when the title, âThe Theory of Colour,â leaps out at you through the magic of UV reactive ink. This quickly sets the stage for an unexpectedly interactive experience throughout.
A Variety of Papers
Opening the menu presents a full-bleed close-up illustration of an eye with yet another circular Die Cut at its center.
This is eerily reflected in the Celloglas Mirri âPillars of Lightâ Holographic Silver Foil sheet on the inside front cover opposite, which is duplex laminated to the Fedrigoni Symbol Freelife Gloss cover.
Turning the pages reveals that the entire menu is made up of a wide variety of different papers. These run the gamut from coated and uncoated sheets to translucent film. The film is used as an overlay over a floral painting. It gives the impression of light pouring through a Die Cut from the facing page.
One Painting, Many Colors
Get used to this still-life painting, rendered by a 17th century Flemish painter, because itâs going to be vital to choosing your cocktail. âWait, Sabine,â I hear you say. âYouâve lost me.â
You see, the exact same painting appears throughout the menu again and again. Each time it mimics the style of a different artist, from the bold primary colors of Piet Mondrian to Mark Rothkoâs abstract expressionism.
The hues are especially rich here as they were offset printed using an extended-color-gamut process. In this case it is comprised of CMYK +Violet.
To use the menu, simply choose the version of the painting that best suits how youâre feeling at the moment and order the cocktail itâs paired with on the facing page.
Discover What Your Choice Says About You
Weâre done, right? Not quite. After all, what good is a quiz if you donât learn something about yourself by taking it?
Simply shine the UV light on the page with your chosen cocktail and voila! A hidden message appears thanks to digitally printed UV reactive ink, revealing what your choice of painting â and drink â say about you!
After sampling âThe Theory of Colourâ menu, Iâve come up with a theory of my own. When it comes to color, go bold, experiment with a wide variety of papers, and always, always have a cocktail handy. đ
