Cafe Design & Installation

The University of Nottingham

Top floor Tokyo transformation in the heart of the University of Nottingham.

Skills

Brand

Following successful graphic installations in multiple spaces across the campus including Greens Café, The Apiary, The Atrium and Henderson’s Café; the University of Nottingham asked us to decorate the interior of their Pan Asian restaurant, Saijokai.

Saijokai, meaning ‘top-floor’ in Japanese, sits right at the top of the University’s Portland Building. The university had a vision of creating a Japanese street food inspired space, centred around an iconic cherry blossom tree in springtime.

Turning Japanese

Our design team created themed artwork encompassing the fresh colour palette of springtime in Japan. We celebrated the high-rise streets of Tokyo through bold colours and large, exciting graphics to create an all-encompassing eating experience reflective of the cuisine and culture.

The concept was rolled out across five-meter wall drops, doors, counters, tables, bin dividers and stand-off acrylic signs. Everything was printed on a high tac printed vinyl and laminated to protect the print and withstand the high traffic.

The restaurant serving area was covered with huge hanging banners—rather than vinyls—to allow the University to update the space with new artwork if required.

A selfie corner was installed in the restaurant as a visual photo opportunity for students to interact and share across social media.