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In this project, the Mpire Creative team collaborated with renowned sushi chef, Daisuke Nakazawa, and restauranteurs Vito Ferraro and Alessandro Borgognone to conceptualize the look and feel of the website for Sushi Nakazawa, located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan.
I played a lead role in the Art Direction and Photo Shoot Production of the project. After researching Chef Nakazawa's background as apprentice to acclaimed sushi chef, Jiro Ono, learning about a day in the life shadowing his team as they prepped for dinner service, and, ultimately, indulging in the full omakase dining experience at the sushi counter, it became clear that we needed to present the ingredients and the creation techniques as art. Observing the hand gestures and movement was like watching a dance, each finger bending with speed, precision, and refined technique, setting Daisuke apart from others. In presenting the simplicity of ingredients, I envisioned zoomed-in compositions focusing on the beauty of their texture and striation patterns up-close, asking the viewer to contemplate what it is that they are actually looking at. Our photographer captured all of this beautifully, our copywriter translated the magic of the dining experience into words, and the design team assembled all the parts and pieces into a visually inviting and technically functional website for the restaurant.