As a designer who had once worked at Tonchin as a server, I was perfectly primed to know the failure points of existing menus and merch—I was my own AB testing. We began by revisiting the menus, streamlining their content and adding helpful icons and illustrations to convey drink portion size to guests. Space was left for customer—server interaction by answering the most crucial menu questions (ingredients, allergies) while leaving some mystery (what exactly IS maguro, what is the sake of the day?) for Front of House workers to spin their hospitable charm.

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The merch options seen here were entirely conceptualized by me, mostly in response to customer inquiry and my own instincts in translating Tonchin's unique visual and physical identity into design work. In the hoodie design, you'll see the physical placesetting of the restaurant (the chopsticks, bowls, and napkins) converted into a ramen mandala, a meditation on Tonchin itself.