We build systems.
Anyone can make you one good menu. And we'll do just that, but we'll also give you the rules, templates, and files that make the next one easy enough for you to build yourself.
Cult Dept. is a creative studio in the Midwest founded by Adam Sattler.
Occasionally, he works alongside some other super talented people that are good at the things he stinks at: building stuff, printing, illustrating anything more complicated than a smiley face.
For better or worse, you'll always work directly with Adam.
Background
Before Cult Dept., Adam was the Creative Director for a group that ran bars and restaurants, distilled spirits, and made and drank lots of beer. He created brands and then worked with those brands daily, learning things you don't working at an agency: which parts of a brand system hold up over time, which ones nobody uses, what the fifth revision of a menu looks like, and what a gin label looks like after the TTB gives you their revisions.
So in 2024, Adam packed up all that insider knowledge (along with a strong desire to get all his work done for the week by Thursday at 5:00) and opened Cult Dept. Now we design systems that we know are going to work a year after your grand opening, when you open a second location, launch a seasonal menu, or need an on-brand sign to let people know the urinal's clogged on a busy Friday night.
We like referencing the past, signage that looks like it's always just been there, and a menu worth stealing.
What we do
- Branding & Visual Identity
- Brand Kit & Guidelines
- Art Direction
- Concept & Naming
- Copywriting
- Graphic Design
- Illustration
- Menu Design & Development
- Modeling & Visualization
- Packaging
- Photo & Video
- Project Management
- Signage & Interiors
- Web Design & Development
- Events
Who we work with
People who care about what they do.
Owners and operators who know how they want their business to feel, but haven't figured out how they want it to look. Usually: bars, restaurants, distilleries and breweries, hospitality groups, and good retail.
Generally: Owner-operated companies and organizations of one to twenty-five people. Project budgets between $5,000 and $100,000. People that care about what they're building and will notice the details we spend time on.
We'd love to add more: queer-owned businesses and organizations, documentaries and independent films, and projects that are too strange for other studios. Companies in industries that either ignore design or design ignores them (think: plumbers, diners, bowling alleys, and hardware stores).
Principles
Built to use
We hand off in whatever your team already opens. A system you have to be trained on stops getting used the week after we leave.
The details are not details.
They make the product. And they compound. The difference between good and great is usually in the stuff that no one consciously notices.
Sometimes it is the size that matters.
We keep our roster small. No offense, but you guys are a lot of work if we do this right, so we limit the number of big projects we take a year. That means we throw ourselves into projects so we can design something that only works for you.
We say no, and you should too!
If we're the wrong studio for the job, we'll tell you, then try our damnedest to help you find one that is. And if you find our vision out of line with yours, you should tell us. Sometimes we're not the best for the job you have in mind, and we should be kicked to the curb.
Contact
hello@cultdept.comCurrently booking late 2026/early 2027
A note on the work: some of it is speculative or self-initiated. Some predates Cult Dept. Some was made with collaborators, who are credited. A few pieces aren't the version the client ended up using or the one that best fit the brief (even though we liked them better).
