Hutong Yakitori is a bistro-style Japanese yakitori restaurant in Shanghai. The restaurant has been open for about a year when they came to me. They've had some regulars but lacked newcomers and found their brand visuals needed characters.
The restaurant opens only in the evening, uses fresh ingredients, and is serious about its craft of making good food while providing a relaxed dining experience to customers. The project targets rebranding the restaurant. I've redesigned the logotype with a calligraphy twist on Chinese and paired it with Windsor for English. In addition to the logo, a hand-drawn chicken character was added to the design. The character's body is a heart shape, echoing the "crisp-tender heart" (crisp on the outside and tender on the inside), which is also the essence of yakitori. The drawing is super simple, so everyone can draw it with only 4 steps, which is also demonstrated on the menu cover. It's all about having fun and making everything approachable.
