Cultural / Context information for the jury

In a third-world country like the Philippines, quick service restaurants are not merely places to get fast food. They are a means to escape daily demands—a respite to help Filipinos de-stress even for a brief moment. Tokyo Tokyo is a Philippine fast food chain serving Japanese cuisine. To help launch their new online delivery service—tokyotokyo.com.ph—we turned their Japanese dishes and iconic utensils into modern graphic images representing modes of travel. The minimal art style is quintessentially Japanese. These images were strategically placed in Tokyo Tokyo stores as posters and tray liners to remind customers that they can always escape and have a taste of Japan right at their fingertips.

Tell the jury about the illustration.

At first glance, the image looks like a picturesque bridge over a river with swans floating around it—giving off that feeling of traveling to Japan and exploring the views around you. But when you look closely, the illustration is actually made of ramen bowls and soup spoons—one of Tokyo Tokyo’s bestsellers. It represents how the fast food chain gives Filipinos an authentic taste of Japan with every sip of their ramen, without leaving the country.