Shinsen

Branding

Shinsen is a local Japanese restaurant that needs an update to their food and beverage list in both a printed and digital format. They wish to reach a more high end customer base and desire to have more rich colour, styling, and clarity in the menu to the customers.

Goal:
To create a menu design that can be distinguished as fine dining while producing print advertising assets to help promote their new appearance as well as in-store accessories and business cards.

Challenges:
Rebranding both their print and digital menu in a dimly lit setting while tailoring the design as a lavish restaurant.

Style Guide

I went with an achromatic colour scheme pairing red with black and white for a very high contrast. Red is also a common colour used in Japan (their National flag) and is considered as a colour of fortune to many Asian countries.

I wanted to keep things modern while also emphasizing the opulent image to match the clientele. To achieve this, I went with the sans serif font Roma for this project. It has a high x-height paired with a humanist style to give it a modern luxurious appeal.

Logo Design
The word "Shinsen" translates to Fresh in Japanese. The logo consists of an elegant wordmark with the typeface Roma paired with a brush stroked calligraphy icon that reads "Shinsen" in Japanese.

Menu Print

Tri-Fold Menu (3.875x8.5") (3.875x8.5") (3.625x8.5")
Drink Insert (3.625x8.5")

I wanted to create a traditional yet modern and upper class appeal in the design. By achieving this, I used a subtle calligraphic backdrop in the design paired with clean typography and alignment. The headline sections consists of a slightly darker shade than the logo to create better contrast and overall balance.

Cover Print Menu

Tri-Fold Menu (3.875x8.5") (3.875x8.5") (3.625x8.5")

Drink Insert (3.625x8.5")

Menu Digital

iPad Pro (2048x2732px)
iPhone 12 (1170x2532px)

A dark background is used to account for the low light setting of the restaurant. This also gives the menu a modern and lavish look. Both digital menus are viewed in portrait mode.