A much needed rebranding for a beloved sushi spot.
A family-owned sushi restaurant based in San Diego, California wanted to demarcate themselves from the many small businesses in the city, an issue they struggled with due to the lack of cohesive branding in their establishment.
海 – umi, means sea in Japanese.
It was an opportunity to start from scratch and with permission to create anything (a designer’s granted wish), I tried to identify what Umi Sushi’s identity was in its core and what it meant to its owners. The restaurant is a modest local’s favourite, located near the waterfront in Point Loma. It felt fitting to focus on the water theme and to use traditional (but modern) representations.
The color scheme uses blue and its complement orange, like water and sand in San Diego. The logo mimicks the shape of Japanese wooden business signs with edges also reminiscing of waves on the beach. The logo design is minimal and playful, it is meant to warn you how welcomed and appreciated you’ll feel when visiting Umi Sushi on your next trip to the waterfront in San Diego.
Designing a poster for a seasonal menu was the most fun I had in this project: I wanted to emulate the style of retro Japanese graphic design and YSL’s Love posters while using my skills in architectural drawings. The result is a visual dedicated to Umi Sushi’s story: cold noodles and green tea, a refreshing summer meal by the sea.
