Kushiba~ is a kushikatsu bar in Echo Park, LA. Opened April 2024. It's a showa-era homage to the Osaka-style fried skewer bar/restaurants. I had the opportunity to create the branding, colors, signage, menus, website and illustrations for it.

The final logo was the result of many iterations and ideas. An interesting challenge was we needed both a horizontal and vertical lockup and after much testing, I decided the logo should have a similar shape but be different style font for horizontal interest and vertical legibility.

A Snail's Pace is a 45-year old running shop in Orange County. Every year they create an exclusive commemorative shirt for the surf city marathon participants. Collaborating with their team, I designed the eclectic, surf-inspired front and back graphics, providing several colorways and iterations.

Conceptualized and painted a mural for the centerpiece of Moto Ramen, a family-friendly ramen restaurant in Culver City. Followed by more hats, shirts and signs along the same motif.

As an art director for these pieces for Disney and Pixar, I had the opportunity to choose the artist, give the creative brief and in many cases, conceptualize the idea while giving references. I would deliver feedback and draw-overs to help them achieve the final artwork.

Shown here are some of my favorites.

In 2015, I supported the Disney Infinity game launch led by the Disney Interactive PR, communications and events team. Campaign and press materials included branded posters, banners, keynote presentations, booklets, photography, credentials and social media assets.

Illustrated drawings for Ototo, an Echo Park sake bar in LA. Includes sake process and ingredient drawings for the menu, teaser instagram posts for their opening and their tenugui pattern, which has since been on masks, booklets, other print materials. Also, I painted a large mural of their cat + logo while they were under construction. So fun!

Restaurant design/branding by wknds .

Shibumi is a Michelin starred kappo restaurant in downtown LA specializing in traditional Edo period Japanese cuisine.

During the pandemic, after four months of closure, Shibumi introduced a takeout menu where I designed bespoke labels and stickers.

Other projects for Shibumi include menu design, pins, uniform labels and collab event poster designs such as Chino Farms x Sqirl x Shibumi Event.

aisu is a premium ice cream brand based out of San Diego. Churned and sourced by Chino Farms, it’s made with utmost care and the best ingredients.

Working with Luke Schmuecker from Farnam West, we wanted to create a look from their logo to their flavor crests that pays homage to their iconic Vegetable shop sign and their Japanese roots. As their startup grows, I’m excited to see how their flavors and packaging will as well. Currently, the ice cream is available at their farm stand and select restaurants.

A small selection of the wide range of designed and illustrated shareables created for Disney and Pixar social media.

Sketched, art directed and crafted these paper art shareables for Disney and Pixar’s social media platforms. Many were part of the movie release campaign and posted across all social media to promote the films.

Finding Dory (movie release)
Mulan (live action movie release)
Disney Villains
Alice through the Looking Glass (movie release)
Jungle Book (live action release)
Bambi (anniversary)
Dumbo (anniversary)
Beauty and the Beast (animation, vault release)
Beauty and the Beast (live action movie release)
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (movie release)

Collaborated with the photography team to shoot, some were shot by myself. Editing and post-production by myself.

In 2014, Disney Interactive rebranded with a colorful new polygonal logo. At this time, the division had no online presence to showcase its products or culture. I was challenged to create a clean and responsive UI/UX experience for our website that matched our new look.

This project started as our new 'press site' to direct media and press for product assets. The scope quickly expanded and became the division's official website for news, images, licensing information and the company culture blog. 

As a graphic designer for USC Spectrum, the on-campus design studio, I had the opportunity to illustrate the brochure for USC Welcome Week for 3 years. All USC freshman receive this brochure upon arriving their first week. I designed the mascots and backgrounds to match the themes from 2009 - 2011. In 2010, it was "California Dreamin’'" and for 2011, it was "The Lost City of Atlantis".

Shown here is a sample of that work.