Project Overview
Ayame Sushi is an authentic Japanese restaurant that has been loved by local people for years. The owner wanted to improve the restaurant’s brand image to reach more broad customers.
My task was to create a new logo that aligns with the owner’s business goals and brand vision to reconnect with his loyal customers and potential audiences.
My Role: Logo Design, Branding
Client: Ayame Sushi
Timeline: 2 weeks
Tools: Illustrator, Photoshop
DESIGN PROCESS
Research and Discover
Analyzing Problems
First, I analyzed the old logo to discover the problems and its ineffectiveness. Having an identity that resonates with the brand’s values and goals is imperative. The old logo had somewhat outdated feelings with some legibility issues on typography which were preventing from conveying the brand message effectively and clearly.
Old Logo
Redesigned Logo
Brainstorming
To understand the client’s business goals and define brand personality, I started listing keywords that represent the restaurant’s business culture and characteristics.
BRAND PERSONALITY
Friendly, Minimal, Modern
BRAND VALUES
Authenticity, Community-oriented, Sincere
Market Research
I explored the market segment, primarily from the perspective of creative solutions used by other Japanese restaurants to gain some insights and a better understanding of the target audience. This research also helped me to identify Ayame Sushi’s unique value proposition.
Defining Goal
To meet the client’s needs, and solve the problems that the old logo has, I decided to focus on creating a scalable, minimal, and timeless logo design with the use of visual elements that envoke the Japanese culture and food.
Ideate
Moodboard
Creating a mood board helped me bring things into focus, like company attributes, vision, identity, and the emotions that the client wants his brand to convey.
Sketching
Sketching logo ideas based on insights and information that I gathered from a conversation with the client allowed me to explore and refine all ideas in my mind.
Typeface
I chose Sans Serif font with soft lines that creates a friendly and minimalistic feeling.
Design Elements
I decided to design a logo that looks like a “Kamon” which was a classic Japanese emblemthat was used to identify certain families, classes, and groups. Using and combining imageelements that convey the restaurant identity, I created an original modern style Kamon.
Colors Palette
I adopted the same color theme that they already had to keep their original brand colors that their repeat customers are familiar with. Simply using black and white colors with an accent color red creates a unifying and noble feeling to the character as well as evoking the Japanese flag color.
