Yuzu Sushi & Robata Grill-
“A Chicago-based restaurant in the heart of West Town with a novel creative approach to the savory traditions of Japanese cuisine.”
Summary of Work
In all projects, Christina led project management, the brand discovery phase, art direction, and oversaw production from concept to completion to ensure printed products aligned with the projects’ initial visual intention. Christina created a brand expansion kit and applied new guidelines while keeping the company-provided logo in use.
Project 1 of 2
Stain and Water-Resistant Dine-In Menu Booklet and Lunch Special Menu:
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The restaurant’s existing menus were plain black and white, tall and narrow, and lived within typical clear plastic cover slips in case of a spill. The restaurant tables were small and quarters' tight, so one's menu would often hit the person sitting opposite of them while reading.
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The typical plastic cover slips were discarded, and the menu was redesigned as a 8.5x5.5 saddle stitched booklet for people to intimately flip through. The menus were printed on water-resistant paper (similar to vinyl) still making them spill-proof. The design itself was spruced up by adding more trendy graphic elements that effectively related to the restaurant's atmosphere and decor. As part of the art direction rebrand, a pattern graphic was used and graphically resembles the decorative plate design that results from a toothpick being dragged through dipping sauce -- emulating Yuzu’s food presentation style.
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Yuzu Sushi provided discount cards to their most frequent customers, with a goal of receiving repeat business — however customer loyalty was diminishing, and the restaurant’s existing discount cards were often discarded.
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To garner more attention and strengthen customer loyalty, the cards were rebranded as “VIP Friendly Neighbor” cards. High quality wooden cards replaced the cheap thin paper cards, encouraging recipients to treasure it for safe-keeping in their wallet. Customers began using their loyalty cards more frequently, and would often bring new friends along to dinner to reap the rewards (in-turn, growing brand awareness).
Project 2 of 2
