Restaurant Dann is a Japanese restaurant in Paris’s 15th arrondissement, specialising in the Shokado bento lunch course, a traditional multi compartment presentation that frames each meal as a seasonal and considered ritual.

The project followed Restaurant Shu, a respected high end Japanese establishment that operated for 17 years before closing. Dann was not a rebrand. It was a reinvention, built from the ground up with a tighter focus, a daytime only format, and a decision to go fully digital across every touchpoint.

Challenge

Dann was launched alongside a clear opening milestone and a client transitioning from a long established business.

The positioning challenge required precision. In a Paris market where Japanese restaurants range from casual sushi chains to refined kaiseki dining, Dann needed to express something more restrained: a daytime ritual for people who value what they eat. Not loud. Not inexpensive. Intentional and exact.

The project also needed to support three audiences simultaneously, French as the primary language alongside English and Japanese, without compromising clarity or tone. In addition, two key service flows needed to be integrated: table reservations via Zenchef and a takeaway ordering journey.

Approach

Logo and Identity

The identity began with a single idea: the name itself. Dann connects to the kanji 団 (dan), meaning gathering, collective, or circular form. Its traditional form, 團, contains the visual logic of the system: an outer boundary, internal division, enclosure, and the number four.

Seven logo concepts were developed across three rounds of review with the client and his sons. Early directions explored a cross or divider motif, which was rejected due to unintended religious associations. A crescent or D shaped concept was also discarded, as it suggested night, conflicting with Dann’s daytime positioning.

The final direction focused on clarity: a geometric square system that is simple, legible, and extensible. It references the structure of a bento box without becoming illustrative.

Website - Framer

The website was built in Framer with a multilingual structure designed from the outset and powered by a CMS to support ongoing content management.

French is prioritised, with full parity in English and Japanese.

Reservations and takeaway ordering are integrated directly into the primary navigation. These actions are surfaced early in the user journey while maintaining a calm and editorial tone.

Social

A flexible social template system was created using Adobe Express. It includes formats for square, portrait, landscape, reels, carousel, and stories.

The system was delivered to enable the client to produce and manage content independently.

Outcome

Restaurant Dann opened on 10 October 2025 with a complete brand identity, trilingual website built in Framer, print menu, and social template system.

The digital first approach removed ongoing print overheads and enabled the client to manage menus, seasonal updates, and reservations without relying on external support.