GRAPHIC & WEB/FIVE GOLD

BRANDING AND LOGO DESIGN

FIVE GOLD JAPANESE RESTAURANT PORTLAND OREGON USA

ブランディング ロゴ デザイン

FIVE GOLD 和食レストラン ポートランド オレゴン州 米国

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5 GOLD : 5 GRAIN 

WHEN I WAS CONSIDERING HOW TO APPROACH THE CONCEPT OF FIVE GOLD IT OCCURRED TO ME THAT IT DERIVED ITS POWER FROM THE TRADITIONAL CHINESE THEORY OF THE FIVE ELEMENTS OR WU XING AND WAS AS WELL CLOSELY LINKED TO THE JAPANESE IDEA OF THE FIVE GRAINS. THIS LATTER IDEA REFERS TO THE FIVE GRAIN HARVEST WHICH IS CHARACTERISTICALLY YELLOW OR GOLDEN AND CAN COMPRISE DIFFERENT GRAINS [ BUT AMONG THEM WILL ALWAYS BE RICE AND SOYBEANS ] DEPENDING ON THE LOCATION IN JAPAN.

THINKING ALONG THESE LINES I CREATED A LOGO WHICH IS AN ABSTRACTION FOR FIVE PIECES OF GRAIN. THE IMAGE IS OF FOUR COMING OUT OF ONE THAT I THINK DENOTES A STRONG IMAGE OF ABUNDANCE.

ALTHOUGH THIS WAS NOT PART OF YOUR MANDATE I WOULD LIKE TO SUGGEST USING THIS FIVE GOLD CONCEPT TO ACTUALLY STRUCTURE A MENU EMPHASIZING THE FIVE GRAINS [ IN THIS INSTANCE PERHAPS RICE, SOYBEANS, SOBA, GOMA AND RED BEANS ]. I AM NOT AWARE OF ANY RESTAURANTS CURRENTLY USING THIS AS AN ORGANIZATIONAL DEVICE. THIS LOGO IS DESIGNED TO SUGGEST THIS DEPTH OF CULTURE VIS A VIS FOOD AND TO MAKE CLEAR THAT YOUR MENU IS BUILT ON CAREFUL SELECTION OF BASIC QUALITY INGREDIENTS.

AS AN IMAGE IT ALSO HAS STRONG HISTORICAL PRECEDENTS IN THE MANY LOGOS AND MARKS USED OVER THE CENTURIES IN JAPAN BOTH FOR FAMILIES AND FOR COMPANIES. WHEN REPEATED IT CAN CREATE A PATTERN THAT CAN BE USED FURTHER AS A GRAPHIC ELEMENT WITHIN YOUR RESTAURANT SPACE OR POSSIBLY ON PLATES TO SUGGEST A RANDOM SCATTERING OF GRAIN.