Located near Central Park in Winnipeg is a street called Balmoral Street. It is an area rich with culture and diversity; and was the perfect spot for our clients to open their latest restaurant, Umaido. They had already decided on the location and were looking for direction to develop the character of their restaurant. Heather sent us the marketing material and inspirational images… and that was it! Embracing the story behind the branding, the design concept for Umaido flourished into a clean, minimalistic aesthetic with a sense of playfulness.
What is Umaido? More like a casual café, it is a donut shop! Instead of the traditional donuts that we know of, these donuts are made with mochi, a glutinous rice flour. These donuts have a specific shape that resemble a flower. We embraced this shape and use it sparingly throughout the space. The final design results in a fun, visual experience. Here is how the vision came to be.
The overall look started with a colour that the clients had in mind. They wanted to embrace the use of white throughout. While an all-white interior can feel cool, we still wanted a space that was warm and inviting. In the end, the use of white allowed the other design elements to pop and create a sense of warmth and youthfulness.
The distressed white wood paneling on the walls and table counters adds warmth and dimension to the space and plays off the warm toned floors and wood accents. The framed wood opening to the kitchen invites you to become apart of the process and see how these donuts are made.
The white walls allow the neon lights to really shine in the space. Pairing them with the wall graphics accentuates the idea of youthfulness and playfulness in the space. Finding the balance between white, orange, and natural textures was important. We created a display wall using warm wood to frame the orange donut boxes, which added colour and dimensionality to the space. Selecting white wall tiles with a subtle pattern adds visual interest, creating pockets of vignettes in the space.
The large expansive storefront glass brings a lot of natural light into the space, making it seem bright and cheerful. Mixing in touches of nature as seen in the wood accents and live plants creates a cozy, warm and inviting atmosphere.
We love how the bright, open space, and pops of colour deliver on the brand. We also loved working closely with our clients to conclude another fun project.