Odd Hours reflect the character of Bar Rollins’ founders in the wine bar’s nostalgic identity

Led by the maxim ‘Bar Rollins Loves You,’ Odd Hours Studio have crafted the unconventional and striking identity for Bar Rollins, a boutique wine bar based in Charleston, South Carolina. Designed to reflect the eccentricity, can-do-attitude and welcoming nature of the bar, Odd Hours turned towards legacy and landscape for the identity’s influences – taking into account the physical context and aesthetics of Charleston and the visual cues and quirks of vintage printed matter. Heading up the playful identity is the bold, blocky and irregular wordmark, providing a stoic yet nostalgic tone to the brand. Its modular construction offers a charming variability for application across printed and digital spaces. “The logo is completely bespoke, and the ‘Bar Rollins Loves You’ line was handwritten in pen,” Odd Hours Co-founder Lily Dent tells us, providing warmth indicative of the bar’s owners, as well as an ownable expression. Supporting the bespoke lettering is a pragmatic collection of typefaces, including JHA’s Times Now, Pangram Pangram’s Charlevoix Pro and the monospaced Inconsolata from Raph Levien. “With the logo feeling a bit more playful, we wanted the supporting typefaces to hit a sophisticated note,” Dent explains, calling on classic French menus as a source of inspiration. “We also loved how Times Now contrasts the logo while Charlevoix Pro echoes it with its chunky weight,” she adds, also recalling the additional character provided by Inconsolata’s fun yet functional architecture. “We felt that while they’re all different, they harmonise well with each other,” Dent remarks, “creating a rich and layered system.”