My friend Alex is a super conscious dude with a passion for food. He and his buddy had an idea they were super stoked on: a hibachi food truck that properly honored the vibrant culture and flavors of Japan. While they were cheffing up the menu items, they entrusted me to cook up the branding and necessary marketing materials.
The agreement 🤝
Timeline: 6 week TAT Budget: $1700 Deliverables: Graphic design and copy for:
Logo
Menu
Flyer
Staff and merch shirts
LOGO 🌸
Direction: I understand the need to keep the logo simple and clean but I agree in the desire to have more abundance or cascading cherry blossoms like Japans springs are so beautifully known for.
We got to speak this afternoon about building the companies intended image and culture: auspicious, respectful/culturally reverent, approachable/welcoming, fun, synonymous with delicious food"
After three revisions we came to:
Menu 🍱
A clear, legible, one-sided A3 menu.
Wow we really love this first draft! It was beyond our expectations! We loved the design elements you came up with too, the tire treads and the pink road lines are great! - Alex
Grand Opening Flyer 🎉
Direction: We also like the idea to continue the “highway-centric imagery and chibi drawings” as found on the menu. Saying something to the note of “follow us for weekly specials” is also a great touch.
Staff/Merch Shirts 👕
Direction: "We would still need some help with the back of the employee tee that will have the logo on the front, (either centered or chest pocket area?), but for the other two merch shirts we were thinking the “get saucy” design with the chopsticks, and the other idea of maybe doing chibi dumplings in a convertible with some sunglasses on."
Just got the final go ahead on the latest version, thanks for your creativity and patience. We can’t wait to see the next shirt design develop!
This project was super fun for me. I don't usually do illustrations and had no experience at all with Chibi Japanese animation style. It was a fun and welcome challenge that flowed so fluidly working with these guys! Ah, what a pleasure 💕
Check out @highwayhibachi on Instagram
