​​​​​​​Project Type

As a traditional sushi bar, our goal is to inform people about the importance of Japanese culture. The usage of brush strokes and thin flourishes, combined with wood interior finishes help convey the traditional atmosphere, thus allowing every customer to feel connected to each other from the ever so ominous Japanese etiquette. 

• We strive to create a warm and welcoming atmosphere

• The conformity at which we uphold drives our expansion to greater levels

• We believe in integrity rather than incompetency 

"Our goal is to create a warm environment by using a simple, yet personal tone of voice in order to inform our audience. It is our job to tell them the history of our culture, as well as how we are able to keep up with trends in the present day."

This project acts as a way to further enhance my skills in branding, and to familiarize myself with the tools and research needed in order to build a brand from scratch.

This project required heavy research on competitors in order to form a new brand voice that will resonate with a new audience, and included multiple assets for campaign promotions, a brand guideline, a creative pitch, logo design, and collateral pieces.

I was very interested in trying out different ways to express the Japanese culture into the logo. ​​​​​​​I had fun drawing different iterations of the letter "K" in the classic Japanese scripture, and played around with various brand elements such as unique shapes, and  borders.

Following the sketches, I ditched the idea of having a typographic only logo, and instead selected to work with the "Onigiri" icon and ribbon idea. 

• Salmon Red: Represents an array of fish meats

• Light Gray: Rice

• Dark Green, Forest Green, Light Green: Seaweed

• Light Tan: Reflects the natural, wooden environment of the restaurant

The full logo is comprised of a ribbon piece that houses the name of the brand, and an "Onigiri", a triangular shaped treat that is made out of sticky rice, seaweed, and special seasoning; a significant piece of Japanese food culture. At the same time, I took an aspect from the culture and designed the icon to have paint strokes and flourishes. I also took the time to remove the line elements on the banner and replaced them with simple dots.