Most generic branding strategies for Japanese restaurants are centered around the iconography and visuals of the Japanese flag. This trope is overused by Japanese restaurants and fails to separate them from their competitors. These visuals also do very little to emphasize the values and identity of a restaurant's cuisine and beliefs.

My approach to identity creation was by first understanding what the brand wanted to encapsulate. I started to identify the key aspects of what Miku stood for. Their philosophy, Ningenmi, was based in "finding happiness by bringing joy to others."

Their attitude towards their food was "Aburi" or flame-seared. Similar to how fire enhances the flavour of their food, they aimed to add modern enhancements to all elements of their traditional cuisine in order to introduce their menu to a new, modern audience. Taking these brand values into consideration, I began to ideate a brand that embraced the history of Japanese cuisine and new modern flavours.

With these values in mind, I decided that the best way to remain genuine and sincere was to research the origins of sushi and Japanese cuisine to best honour the culture that I wanted to showcase with this brand identity. I discovered that a large amount of Japanese cuisine was created in the Japanese Edo period, and I was inspired by the traditional art and colours of the time period.

The fans in traditional Edo Japan were a way for people from the higher class to showcase art everywhere. The motion of a fan opening to expose the art symbolizes the action of unfolding a new perspective to an audience. Simultaneously, by visiting Miku, Japanese food culture is being introduced to a new Western audience.

The typographic details were an homage to the traditional Japanese calligraphy and the sans-serif details held on to more modern type design.

The letter "k" represents a person unfolding a fan; Miku's new brand unfolds a new perspective of Japanese cuisine to its guests. Miku's new identity aims to reflect the restaurant's innovative and distinctive dishes while simultaneously honouring tradition.

By researching art history and the origins of Japanese cuisine, this new brand identity is elevated beyond visual aesthetics and overcomes traditional Japanese branding tropes found in the West.