Client: Marugame Udon
Role: Marketing Graphic Designer
Scope: Email campaigns, web design, promotional materials
Marugame Udon needed a consistent marketing presence that could drive foot traffic while honoring their commitment to authentic, handcrafted udon. The challenge was creating campaigns that felt premium and culturally grounded, not generic fast-casual.
Balancing Heritage & Modernity
Marugame's strength is its authenticity—handmade noodles and traditional Japanese recipes. I honored this heritage through clean design, thoughtful negative space, and photography that emphasized craft and quality, making it accessible to American audiences without losing cultural integrity.
Campaign Architecture
I built a two-tiered system: monthly themed campaigns around seasonal ingredients and cultural moments for storytelling, plus weekly promotional emails to drive foot traffic. This rhythm maintained engagement without overwhelming subscribers.
Visual System
Food-first design that makes people hungry. High-quality photography showcasing texture and color, clean layouts with ample white space, bold typography, and prominent CTAs. The system was built to be both appetite-driven and scalable.
Consistency Across Channels
Customers experience Marugame through email, web, and in-store. I maintained unified visual language and messaging across all touchpoints, ensuring campaigns felt cohesive whether someone clicked from an email or visited the site directly.
Email marketing
Seasonal Campaigns
Impact
Through consistent execution across hundreds of campaigns, I established a reliable email cadence that strengthened Marugame's brand presence and kept the restaurant top-of-mind for subscribers. The design system I created proved scalable and adaptable—flexible enough to accommodate weekly promotions, seasonal specials, and limited-time offerings while maintaining visual cohesion.
Key Insight: The most effective campaigns balanced immediate promotional value with storytelling about craft and authenticity. Audiences responded strongest when marketing felt less like advertising and more like an invitation to experience something genuine—handmade noodles, traditional recipes, and the care behind each bowl.