Challenge

When the owners of legendary NYC bar, Dante, approached AP Keaton, they had the faint idea of launching a bottled cocktail brand but needed comprehensive 0 to 1 brand development—from visual identity and e-commerce platform to social media strategy. I was deeply involved in every stage of this project, helping craft a sophisticated yet approachable brand that pays homage to New York’s iconic cocktail culture.

Brand Identity: The Birth of The New York Cocktail Company

Our first challenge was defining the brand’s identity. After extensive brainstorming and iteration, we landed on the name The New York Cocktail Company (NYCC)—a title that reflects both heritage and craftsmanship.

I worked closely with our creative team to develop the full visual identity, ensuring that the brand felt timeless yet contemporary. The identity was rooted in:

• Typography & Color: A mix of modern serif and sans-serif fonts paired with deep, classic hues evoking old-school NYC sophistication.

• Illustration & Visual Language: Inspired by New York’s historic bars and cocktail culture, I helped create custom illustrations that subtly reference Art Deco aesthetics while maintaining a modern edge.

The result was a cohesive and premium brand identity that felt authentically New York while standing out in the highly competitive craft cocktail market.

Website and E-commerce Platform

Once the brand identity was finalized, the next task was to design and build an interactive website that not only told the brand’s story but also allowed customers to easily purchase cocktails online.

I single-handedly led the UI/UX design and development of the NYCC website, under the guidance of our Creative Director.

Process & Execution:

• Wireframing & Prototyping: Explored multiple prototypes in Figma, refining based on usability testing and client feedback.

• Development & E-Commerce Integration: The final site was built on WordPress, with a Shopify integration to enable smooth e-commerce transactions. My expertise in HTML, CSS, and WordPress played a crucial role in delivering a fully responsive and dynamic site.

• Mobile-First Approach: The site was designed following a "phone-first" ideology, ensuring an optimized and intuitive mobile shopping experience.

The final product was widely appreciated by the client, leading to continued digital work for AP Keaton as the brand grew.

The website is live and can be viewed at newyorkcocktailcompany.com.

Social Media Strategy: Crafting an Engaging Online Presence

The final ask was to create a compelling social media strategy, aligning visual storytelling with NYCC’s core values. Through target audience research and content strategy development, I helped define three key content pillars that shaped NYCC’s social identity:

Content Pillar 1: Legacy

NYCC’s brand is deeply connected to New York’s legendary cocktail history. We created content that highlighted:

✔ Classic cocktail histories
✔ Profiles of iconic NYC bars
✔ Stories of people’s first “luxury” experiences (e.g., their first fine dining meal, first front-row seat, first Negroni).

Example: A swipe-through Instagram post on Bemelmans Bar, blending vintage photography, typography, and vintage-inspired layouts.

Content Pillar 2: Make it Easy

This pillar focused on hosting, gifting, and drinking tips, featuring NYCC in a way that felt organic and aspirational.

✔ Entertaining tips for making great cocktails at home
✔ Gift guides featuring NYCC’s bottled cocktails
✔ Spotlighting iconic NYC cocktails & their origins

Content Pillar 3: Make it Anywhere, Everywhere

NYCC is designed to be enjoyed anywhere—whether at home or on the go. This content stream showcased product photography in texturally rich, quintessentially NYC settings like:
✔ Historic West Village brownstones
✔ Dimly lit speakeasies
✔ Rooftop views of the skyline By maintaining a consistent brand voice, engaging motion graphics, and elevated visuals, NYCC’s social presence grew rapidly, positioning it as a luxury yet approachable lifestyle brand.

Final Thoughts

What started as just a logo and an idea evolved into a fully realized brand, a high-performing e-commerce website, and an engaging digital presence that resonated with New York’s cocktail lovers.

The project was a perfect blend of UX design, branding, and digital marketing, and I’m incredibly proud to have played a key role in launching The New York Cocktail Company from the ground up.