Umai Nori is a Japanese temaki restaurant in Washington, D.C., specializing in open-style hand rolls. I developed the logo identity to capture the restaurant’s modern Japanese aesthetic, drawing inspiration from forms associated with temaki and Japanese dining culture.

Two complementary logo forms were selected for the final identity. The organic wordmark draws inspiration from the curved silhouette of nori wrapped around a hand roll, while the structured mark takes inspiration from traditional Japanese noren curtains. Together, the two marks create a flexible visual identity that adapts across different brand applications while maintaining a cohesive connection to the restaurant’s Japanese roots.