Yūgen Dining is an underground fine dining venue with a moody, design-led visual identity and a constant need for campaign, menu and event collateral. As the sole in-house designer working across multiple hospitality businesses, I developed ongoing creative for Yūgen across print, digital and motion.

The role required both brand stewardship and fast-paced production. I worked within an existing identity system, extending the agency-developed zen motif, refined typography and limited red, black and white palette across a wide range of touchpoints. The work included menus, social media assets, digital screens, event collateral, custom business cards, coasters and printed materials for private dining and luxury retail clients.

I also introduced more hand-rendered and analogue elements into the visual language. For sake, sashimi and dining campaigns, I developed illustrations inspired by calligraphic Japanese mark-making, giving the food-led promotions a softer and more crafted quality. This became a useful way to communicate premium ingredients without relying solely on photography, particularly for raw fish and meat-led dishes.

For seasonal and recurring campaigns, I created assets for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, DJ nights and other restaurant activations. The work often balanced romance, nightlife and fine dining, bringing a more atmospheric and slightly grungy edge to the venue’s marketing while still respecting the premium nature of the brand.

The project demonstrates my ability to maintain and evolve a high-end hospitality identity under commercial pressure, producing polished work across multiple formats, stakeholders and deadlines.