Kodawari - Brand Identity Case Study

Kodawari - Japanese restaurant

Logotype design & visual identity

First of all, this project never was implemented and the restaurant stayed at the conceptual stage due to various factors.

Kodawari was a Japanese themed high-end restaurant set to be created in Los Angeles by a well-known French Michelin starred chef.
A place aimed at expressing his love for Japanese food and presenting dishes executed with the most refined culinary techniques.

The name

In Japanese, Kodawari is the concept of pushing oneself to the limits, constantly refining and pushing one's technique, always raising the bar, to excellence and beyond. It's a philosophy, living life constantly surpassing oneself.
In the culinary world, it also means "specialty", a specific skill.

With a concept so strong I immediatly tried to represent graphically what "pushing the limit" could be:

Inspirations

In my quest to illustrate the "pushing the limits" concept, I searched for Japanese elements that could first embody the notion of "limits". I looked for frames, borders, hard shapes. A closed, rigid form.

The Japanese "Tags"

The Torii Gate

The Noren

Plate and chopsticks

Typography Inspirations

Usually, when the Japanese use the roman alphabet for their brands, they use very legible, sober and impactful fonts. Minimal contrast betwenn the thicks and thins, atemporal design. Sobriety, timelessness, impact, very Japanese.

Integrating the main concepts

First is the frame / border, to illustrate the limit. It also reminds of the the typical Japanese wooden tag.
Then the initial K, shaped like an arrow going through and beyond the line, the limit.
Finally, the square component, the plate, and the sideways chopsticks integrated into the K.