Putting the Oh! into Yo! Sushi’s award-winning website

I produced various animated and interactive products for the Japanese-inspired conveyor-belt cuisine merchants, YO! Sushi.

The designs were based on 'Kokeshi' art, simple wooden Japanese dolls with no arms or legs that have been crafted in Japan for over 150 years as a toy for children.

In the grand scheme of things, my role was only a small one — I was simply providing the 'cherry on top' of a multi-agency project. The client had engaged London design firm Intro, with creative direction led by Anna Bergfors, while Evolving Media in Bedfordshire won the pitch to design and build the website. Paul Edmonds, creative director at Evolving Media, brought me in to develop the Macromedia Flash interactive sections and produce a range of animated YO! Sushi-branded assets.

A talented designer at Evolving, Ian Rotea, worked on the UI, while I brought in Jamie Macdonald to assist with some of the more complex ActionScript development.

It was a fascinating project to work on, and everyone was delighted with the results. The YO! Sushi website went on to win the 2010 Webby Award for Best Website in the restaurant sector, as well as the People’s Voice Award in the same category.

Please note: When I edit these showreel examples I obviously highlight my own art direction, animation and motion design contributions but that certainly doesn't mean that I am entirely responsible for every visual shown. I have been fortunate to collaborate with many exceptionally talented colleagues — those that I can recall at the time of writing are listed below:

Kokeshi Characters — Yo! Sushi

The designs were based on 'Kokeshi' art, simple wooden Japanese dolls with no arms or legs that have been crafted in Japan for over 150 years as a toy for children.

These particular Kokeshi dolls were sourced and selected by design agency Intro in London. I took their characters and 'had a little play' with them.

Yo! Sushi - Website

I was commisioned by Evolving to produce the flash for yo! Sushi.

x2 Webby Awards for Best Website 2010 in the restaurant sector and People's Voice Award for Best Website 2010 in the restaurant sector

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