Brand Identity Redesign

Calirolls is a family-owned sushi takeout chain based in Toronto. Their sushi is popular among Canadian families due to its high-quality, sustainably sourced ingredients. In addition to classic fish rolls, they also offer a variety of alternatives such as vegan rolls. From my observations, I found that their previous logo wasn’t recognizable and did not reflect their craft, so I decided to redesign it.

Tools Used

Photoshop

Illustrator

Indesign

Milanote

Skills Used

Market research, mood-board, target audience, sketching, logo design, typography, mock-up

🔍 Challenge

Calirolls needed a new brand identity to establish brand recognition and to express their passion for high-quality sushi and ingredients. The biggest challenge was that the identity had to be recognizable as a sushi business while attracting vegans and non-fish eaters. I needed to challenge the idea that “sushi = raw fish.” 

“How do I create a brand identity for a sushi business that also offers non-fish products?”

✏️ Ideation

To differentiate Calirolls from others, I analyzed sushi restaurants and takeout shops in Toronto. I noticed many use Japan-inspired motifs (e.g. brush strokes), so Calirolls must take a different approach. It was hard for me to create a logo that did not contain elements of fish or Japan because sushi has been historically tied to them. I came up with the idea of using a simple sushi roll shaped like the letter C and experimented with different angles and proportions.

🔎 Click on the image to zoom

The logo rendition I proposed to my professor and peers had the classic sushi roll with seaweed on the outside. It was clean and recognizable as sushi but did not reflect the brand’s identity. I thought of using the colour-inverted version of the logo. This would make it look like the seaweed was on the inside, which is more familiar to Canadians and gives a softer impression. I also incorporated the feedback that the logo should use colours to communicate the brand values.

💡 Solution

The first logo achieved the challenge of representing a sushi business with vegan/vegetarian sushi by incorporating the letter “C” into a sushi roll and effectively using appetite-inducing colours. Using colours that are not frequently used among sushi businesses adds uniqueness and freshness to the brand and the contrast between light-green and orange helps the logo pop out.

📝 Feedback

Submitting the logo for a design award was a turning point for me. I received positive and negative feedback and also reflected on the design. Looking at it with this new information, I could point out a few areas where improvements could be made.
My new challenge was to approach each of the problems that arose upon receiving the feedback.

• I noticed the connection between the logo mark and the typography was poor. It was also mentioned in the feedback.
• It looked more like a sandwich or tortilla store than a sushi store.
• The sharp ends of the letter C didn’t align with the theme that I was going for.
• It looked more like the letter O than C.
• The perspective of the logo icon seemed off.

🛠️ Revision

I started by revising the icon mark, especially the letter C in the center. By widening the aperture and making the letter thicker, I improved the legibility of the letter C.

The organic shape and rounded corners created soft and approachable tones while maintaining a clean look. I also added chopsticks to make the logo more recognizable as sushi.
For the new logo typeface, I chose the one that has unique characteristics yet doesn’t overpower the logo icon. I also selected the italic version to match the letter C in the icon and to add an accent. The tagline under the wordmark balances out the whole composition and also adds authenticity to the brand. 

The last thing I revised was the colour palette. The primary colours in the previous palette included the dark blue “Ocean”. But it created too much contrast with other colours and it wasn’t appetite-inducing, so I switched with the darker green “Seaweed”.

✨ Mockups