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Portfolio - Graphic design

Restaurant menu design

This menu was designed to target 25-35 year old executive clients in the business world. I chose to use various asian themes with a humorous or comical twist to entice customers. The restaurant in question is a Sushi bar which also serves other types of dishes.

Menu Cover - Design

Restaurant menu cover featuring a Samurai illustration

First double page spread

Restaurant menu spread featuring a Geisha illustration

Second double page spread

Restaurant menu spread featuring a Samurai illustration

Third double page spread

Restaurant menu spread featuring a Tai Chi illustration

Menu Back - Design

Restaurant menu back page featuring a Geisha illustration

Menu Rational

This rational was enclosed with the design

When planning my concept for the Chow Mi posters, billboards and menu, I took care to select themes, ideas and styles that would not only be attractive to the target market, but would also have a unique look and feel in order to facilitate branding more easily.

The look is clean, slick and is easily recognizable and mainly makes use of original vector style illustrations in red, black and gray color schemes with the occasional touch of blue.

The concept is set up to appeal to two types of clients. The first client is the type who has a love of Asian imagery and icons. This person will be drawn to the images, dish names and the general look of the restaurant.

The second client is the young business person who is intrigued by the slick look as well as the advertising concept. The concept showcases traditional Asian images combined with signs of modern life in a humoristic yet stylish way. These modern objects are shown in blue and further affirm the association with the modern fast-paced business world, although the restaurant can be seen as a safe haven from that rush.

The menu once again makes use of these traditional images including the Samurai, Geisha, Thai Chi artist and the Cherry Blossom tree. I further incorporated the names of those items into the menu as well as other terms like Bonsai and the names of various traditional Asian weapons. Not every client will notice this, but it does leave a few things to be discovered by the more serious enthusiast.

The color scheme of the posters is repeated in the menu. The gray divider at the bottom of the spreads serves to create a division in the page and to create slick lines that strengthen the unity of the design.

The logo is repeated on each page to create brand awareness and the block pattern at the top of each page creates a slight hint of something more and makes the page seem like it is set in an Asian environment.

The color scheme of the menu imagery is repeated in the type on the menu. The Font Shui font is used for headings to create an eastern look without being the most overused Asian font ever.

The second font is Franklin Gothic book and was chosen since it is a simple yet elegant San Serif font that does not interfere with the reading of the menu, or interfere with the other design elements.

The cover and back of the menu reflect the look and feel of all the other material discussed. Attention is given to leaving adequate space and keeping the look light and uncluttered.

For the sake of durability I would suggest butterfly binding. I would also suggest spot varnishing the figures, the Chow Mi logo and the Cherry blossom trees on all the pages to provide variety and diversity in the look.