Design student Amy Bradley just wrote to us with these comments:
I was browsing to doublecheck some info on Miyabi (we’re going there for dinner, I really like the place), and found your website. I had that wonderful moment of “oh, so THESE are the folks who did the cool business card!” I like the design you came up with, the slightly playful feeling it incorporates. The strong colors also make it memorable. Anyway, I think it’s distinctive and interesting.
Then, this morning I found the holiday card we made for Miyabi Japanese restaurant hanging out on my desk. As any designer will attest, it was so nice to hold the real-life version of a piece that up ’til today I’d only seen laid out in pixels.
Design Kompany commissioned illustrator Aaron Barker to draw the new logo and blue fish for Miyabi last fall. Since then we’ve created a buncha other stuff to go with the new look and feel. Business cards. A to-go menu. Name tags. And since then, Aaron’s joined Design Kompany’s creative team.
The big idea for Miyabi’s identity redesign was to convey a sense of fun. The look had to say, “here’s a place that’s not another swanky bistro spot that does fancy Japanese cuisine, but a family-oriented or a more casual date kinduva place.” (Although the presentation of some of their dishes is quite high-end, beautiful stuff.)
Design Kompany’s just wrapping up the writing and design for a brand new press kit, a menu redesign, and I just got a call to do some advertisements for local papers. All this as part of a total rebranding package for the Tukwila restaurant.
One Fish, Blue Fish for Miyabi Japanese Restaurant | What We Do at Design Kompany | Menu design for Maekawa Restaurant | DK’s New Years Greeting Cards
i agree with the amy bradley — i love the smiley eel(?) in the logo. i’m ready to have it be the protagonist of an animated movie! though i guess it wouldn’t have such a happy ending for an eel in a sushi restaurant…
thanks for the comments, JR! actually, that’s sanma, aka pike mackerel. there’s a long story behind that fish being the mascot of the shop. needless to say, it’s quite yummy, esp. grilled and served with salt, soy sauce and a wedge of lemon:)
Hey, John. Thanks for checking in. The animated movie is a fantastic idea. Want to make it? We’ll put it on You Tube.
Good idea. If they were mailing out the piece they should of personalized it to each recipient and saw an even greater response rates. People love seeing their name on stuff. We actually create Personalized Landing Pages for each recipient of our mail pieces.
Great post, I really enjoyed it. I will have to bookmark this site for later.
Wow, I really like the design. It does rather send a sense of family oriented fun and good food. I wonder what inspired the designer? I like the wrap around fish, although it is a little simpler than I would’ve gone.
Hi Danny,
What inspired me was the idea of “cutting fish,” but thinking about that in the abstract. Using the edges of the page, for example, to “cut.” This was lots of fun to work out in the business card and letterhead design, too.
We had a few different kinds of fish sketched up by our illustrator at the time, Aaron Barker. This was our client’s favorite.
I can see why this was your clients favorite, I like the fish too. I also like the snowflakes amongst the bubbles, as it makes for a good holiday setting! Cool design.