Boxpark Sushi

Boxpark Sushi is an innovative restaurant that combines the age of advanced technology with a unique option of customizing a consumer’s Asian cuisine. Targeted towards the tech-savvy millennial, Boxpark Sushi thrives in giving consumers a place they can call their own.

Market Research

In developing the brand of Boxpark Sushi, there were some challenges for the targeted market of millennials. How can this restaurant survive a well-saturated market of Asian cuisine that already targeted the young millennial market? By looking at and researching indirect and direct competitors, it was easy to compare parities and differences between all of the restaurants. This enabled the process of creating a unique factor that would both stand out from the competitors as well as still target the main demographic.

By developing a competitor analysis, the differentiation for Boxpark Sushi was born. Within the restaurant and food industry, innovative ways of communicating food and the way food is being presented are the top priority for millennials. So with this research, the idea of technology and customization combined into one restaurant where consumers can make their creations was the path that paved the distinction of Boxpark Sushi from the competition.

Brand Identity

Logo Ideation Sketches

After distinguishing a differentiation for Boxpark Sushi, a logo and brand identity was the next step in developing a unique brand and solving the design problem. A series of ideation sketches were composed to resonate and reflect the brand’s message of technology, customization, and cuisine. Many of the logo sketches reflected the idea of “gears in motion” and “creation”. Sketches involving an iteration of geishas were developed to resonate with the Asian culture and reflect the type of cultural food that is being served at Boxpark Sushi. Boxpark Sushi needed to have a logo and identity that reflects the brand’s innovation and use of technology while appealing to the young millennial target market.

Digitization & Rendering

While many sketches were not selected, three final distinguished icons were chosen that showcased the most iconic design in representing the technology and innovation possessed within the core of Boxpark Sushi.

Final Logo Design

The final logo design chosen to represent the brand is an abstract cyber geisha. The use of gears with the head and the image of a VR headset tells the story of what kind of sushi restaurant Boxpark Sushi is. Compared to the competitor logos, this logo stands out by representing the targeted demographic of young tech-savvy millennials in using fun vibrant colors and a representation of a futuristic icon in the geisha. 

Vision Board

After the logo for Boxpark Sushi was born, it was time to flesh out the brand’s identity and overall vision. First, a static vision board was developed to display the crucial elements of the brand’s identity. This involved the brand’s mood, color palette, typography, and overall image treatment. The vision board allows for the most efficient way to share a focused vision of a brand and avoid developing assets in the wrong direction. This way the vision board begins the process of consistently bringing assets together to further development.

Style Guide

Before any marketing assets were developed a well-documented and thought-through brand style guide was developed in nurturing the brand’s identity and boundaries. The dos and don’ts are displayed in how the brand’s voice and tone are communicated. It ranges from how the logo is and should be represented as well to the many marketing strategies that are and will be developed in making Boxpark Sushi a unique restaurant.  

Marketing Strategies

Entrance Signage Lightbox

One of the first marketing strategies to implement innovation within the brand of Boxpark Sushi is the entrance sign. The entrance sign of Boxpark Sushi is a lightbox entrance signage. For easy recognition in low lighting and to stand out from a crowded downtown area, the logo increased visibility due to its lightbox features.  

Digital Outdoor Ad

Within the PR marketing strategy for Boxpark Sushi, instead of using static OOH (Out-of-Home) advertising, the brand uses digital outdoor signage The digital outdoor signage enables the brand to market more messages cost-effectively within a short timeframe reaching a more diverse set of millennials. Since most millennials like to go out and enjoy the nightlife and even during the day, having a moving video advertisement of the restaurant is more effective to gravitate toward the short attention span of a millennial.

Mobile App & Digital Tablet Menu

Within the shared targeted demographic, Boxpark Sushi uses innovative marketing strategies to target the millennial demographic. The design decisions are focused on having unique benefits and values tailored to the millennial demographic including customization and interactive technology to assist in ordering the cuisine from digital tablet menus and a mobile app. 

Brand Infographic

Overall, the design decisions for Boxpark Sushi resolved the design problem of developing a unique Asian cuisine restaurant targeted at young millennials that will stand out from the competition. A branded survey was conducted to find out the effectiveness of the design decisions made for the brand as well as the technology within the brand. The results of the survey that was given to the target demographic proved the brand’s worth of innovation and forward design thinking.