Brinkworth is pleased to announce the launch of OKA Onigiri, a Japanese restaurant bringing fast, fresh comfort food to Berlin’s thriving restaurant scene. The global design company collaborated with OKA founders Maxim Streletzki and Kaoru Iriyama to develop an ownable brand identity and execute this through inspired architectural and interior design.

OKA offers made-to-order onigiri: triangular rice balls with a selection of fillings, wrapped in nori. In Japan, onigiri is more than just a snack. It’s a part of everyday culture. A hand-formed rice ball, lovingly made by a mother or grandmother, often tied to childhood memories. Brinkworth has crafted a brand world that is warm and welcoming, modern and joyful while paying homage to tradition, delivering an experience that feels true to the ethos of OKA Onigiri.

Drawing on Japanese modernism and the geometry of the triangle, Brinkworth landed on a soft, three-sided shape as a building block of the design scheme. This becomes the basis of pattern and form across surfaces, furniture, fittings, signage and communications. The brand identity features a full custom mono-spaced typeface and a colour palette where ‘kiiro’ (yellow) is the focus, supported by a vibrant blue and natural tones. The experience is coherent, from the wrapping of take away orders to graphic representations of menu items to distinctive social media content. Launch postcards and artwork feature evocative photography from the streets of Tokyo.

The interior of the restaurant is warm, fresh and uplifting, with pale timber, canvas fabric and clay render on the walls. The fun geometry of the onigiri brand shape is used in myriad inventive ways: from the two-tone bespoke terrazzo floor to the wall-mounted tables. Craftsmanship comes to the fore in the curved timber forms of the chef’s table and custom stools and benches. The ceiling features a modern, graphic take on Noren – traditional Japanese fabric dividers which welcome diners and advertise the business. The outcome is an integrated brand and interior which holistically express OKA’s personality.

Sonny Cant, Brinkworth’s Design Director said: “Working with OKA since its inception, we were able to seamlessly integrate every element of the brand world, from naming and visual identity to digital, spatial and experiential expressions. With a modern, graphic take on tradition, the distinctive and sensorial world of OKA can help build a new community that loves Japanese food and good design.”

Maxim Streletzki, founder of OKA said: “Brinkworth’s focus on craftsmanship and materiality aligns with our own and provided a strong foundation to build something exceptional. The restaurant is a beautiful, functional space for a unique sensory experience. We now have an ownable, flexible brand to carry our company forward, bringing joy through onigiri and a love of Japanese culture.”