Meaningful Minimalist Design Elevates Umami Burger’s New Santa Monica and Chicago locations
PROJECT M PLUS, a branding and architecture studio in Silver Lake, develops a singular, scalable identity to keep the Umami Burger brand in motion—the new Santa Monica, CA and Chicago, IL locations are the genesis.
“Umami,” a word of distinctively Japanese provenance, is used to describe the elusive 5th taste; a nuanced and complex combination of salty, sweet, sour, and bitter. “When Umami came to us for a new concept to unify their brand, we suggested bringing the mystery of Umami to life. We wanted to create a space as purposefully composed as their mouth-watering recipes. Using a 360-brand approach, we filtered traditional Japanese design queues through a modern, American lens,” explains Cleo Murnane, Co-founder and Creative Director for Project M Plus. Artful, authentic with an Umami signature youthful edge, Project M Plus applies Japanese minimalism to create a branded environment that elevates how guests experience the brand. The new restaurants introduce refinement that nod to the earliest burgers being served out of a sushi bar by their founder, Adam Fleischman.
Traditional Shoji screens are re-imagined in perforated metal patterns providing privacy while also letting in light. A custom wooden slat panel ceiling detail was designed in geometric shapes that refer to the art of origami. Inspired by sculptor Japanese-American sculptor, Ruth Asawa, woven lanterns cluster organically over the common table, signalling diners to gather. These “Nama” pendants in various sizes and shapes were sourced from Ay illuminate, The Netherlands. The bar was faced with hand-made, crackled ceramic tile from Heath in a layered glaze chalk and gun metal finish. Sashiko embroidery textile designs are reimagined in a modern stencil pattern and painted on the floor.
Additional branded elements created by the M Plus graphics team include custom neon signage and the street-inspired décollage wall art. Custom neon instalments create a social media opportunity generating 13,000 traceable impressions the first week. Décollage, made popular by artists François Dufrene, Jacques Villeglé, and Raymond Hains, involves layering posters one over another, then tearing away layers to reveal the various posters underneath. The poster art incorporates vintage postcards that relay the urban context of restaurant location, Japanese graphics and slang, and messages the flavor profiles of Umami.
A minimalist yet meaningful design coupled with an extensive selection of burgers representing complex flavors, is an aesthetic Umami will continue to evolve with the design direction of Project M Plus.
