Romanian Speakeasy Brand Identity
House of Ellixrz is a speakeasy bar in Sibiu, Romania founded by Razvan Mijea, a passionate artisan with a deep love for crafting exquisite drinks from locally sourced and locally inspired ingredients. Quaint on the outside, vibrant within, it is the kind of place that becomes a highlight of a visit to one of Central Europe's most beautiful medieval cities. The brief was to build a complete brand identity: visual, print, digital, and apparel that captured the warmth, authenticity, and craft of the establishment and gave it a presence worthy of the experience inside. Mike Rock Studio delivered the full brand for a bar that deserved to be discovered.
The Challenge:
Sibiu is a city of extraordinary character, a UNESCO-listed medieval centre, a Cultural Capital of Europe, a destination that draws visitors from across the continent for its architecture, its culture, and increasingly, its food and drink scene. For a new speakeasy bar in this environment, the opportunity is significant and the standard is high. Visitors who have sought out Sibiu are discerning; they are looking for authentic experiences, not tourist traps.
House of Ellixrz needed a brand that communicated authenticity without costuming it, the genuine craft of an artisan bartender using real local ingredients, the warmth of a space designed for unhurried evenings, and the slight sense of discovery that defines the speakeasy concept. The challenge was holding the tension between the bar's modern sensibility and its deep roots in Romanian tradition between the polish of a considered brand identity and the humble, human quality of the place itself.
The Approach:
The creative strategy was built around three words from the brief itself: tradition, innovation, community. In Sibiu, these are not abstract brand values they are the lived reality of a city that has maintained its medieval identity while becoming one of Romania's most progressive cultural destinations. House of Ellixrz sits within that tradition honestly: a new establishment, rooted in old craftsmanship, made for the community of people who find their way to it.
The visual direction drew on the rich cultural heritage of Sibiu and Romania, earthy tones and warm hues that evoke the cosseted interior of a bar that feels like it has always been there, classic typography refined with contemporary details that reflect Razvan's own sensibility: respectful of tradition, unwilling to be constrained by it. The logo brings those two registers together, a mark that could belong to the nineteenth century or the twenty-first, which is precisely the right ambiguity for a speakeasy.
The menu design carried that philosophy into the most intimate brand touchpoint, the object a patron holds in their hands before ordering. Rustic textures, elegant typography, and bespoke illustrations celebrating Romanian culture and heritage made the menu an experience in itself rather than a functional document. The stationery: business cards, coasters carried the same illustration language into every surface a guest might encounter.
The apparel design extended the brand into the human element of the experience, staff uniforms that reflected the bar's relaxed-yet-polished ambiance, comfortable in fabric, considered in their branding, and coherent with everything else in the visual system.
The digital presence was built to serve the tourist audience specifically visitors planning a trip to Sibiu who discover House of Ellixrz online before they arrive, and leave wanting to return.
The Work:
Brand Identity & Guidelines:
A complete visual identity for House of Ellixrz: logomark, typography, earthy colour palette, and the visual language of a modern traditional Romanian speakeasy. Classic in its references, contemporary in its execution.
Print - Menu & Stationery:
A menu design that is an experience rather than a document, rustic textures, elegant typography, bespoke illustrations celebrating Romanian culture. Business cards and coasters carrying the same visual world into every guest interaction.
Apparel:
Staff uniforms designed to reflect the bar's relaxed-yet-polished ambiance, comfortable, coherent, and contributing to the brand experience from the moment a guest is greeted.
Digital:
A digital presence built for the tourist audience discovering House of Ellixrz before and during a visit to Sibiu communicating the bar's warmth, craft, and authenticity to visitors who want to find the real version of Romania rather than the packaged one.
The Outcome
House of Ellixrz has become a beloved fixture in Sibiu's culinary and nightlife scene, a place with a loyal local following and a growing reputation among the visitors who find their way to it. The brand identity contributed to that establishment: warm enough to feel like a discovery, considered enough to communicate quality, and rooted enough in Romanian culture to feel genuinely of its place.
As the brief itself described: the warm and inviting atmosphere, coupled with the emphasis on quality and creativity, has garnered a loyal following of patrons who appreciate the bar's commitment to excellence.
Razvan Mijea set out to build something humble and extraordinary. The brand was built to match both.
Project Details:
Services: Brand Identity · Logomark · Brand Guidelines · Menu Design · Stationery · Apparel · Digital
Industry: Hospitality · Bar & Nightlife · Artisan Food & Drink
Location: Sibiu, Romania
Market: Romanian Tourism · International Visitors · Local Dining & Nightlife
