Logo of Toki Underground featuring a blue cloud with white Chinese characters and the text 'Toki Underground' in white.

What started as a dream to open Washington, DC’s first ramen restaurant has grown from a hidden 23-seat attic space into a beloved DC institution. Tucked above a friend’s neighborhood bar, Toki Underground quickly became an underground destination for authentic ramen. More than fifteen years later, the restaurant continues to thrive and has expanded to a second location in Baltimore.

This project represents the most complete expression of my creative work. With full creative ownership of the brand, I developed the identity, visual language, and experience from the ground up. Fifteen years later, it remains the project I am most proud of and the one that best reflects my approach to design, storytelling, and brand building.

Interior of a restaurant or bar with a wooden ceiling, hanging red lanterns, a counter with chairs, and a colorful graffitied wall.

From the beginning, we wanted Toki to feel hidden, unexpected and exclusive for those in-the-know. We even decided not to put a sign on the door for a few years. The journey became part of the experience, creating the feeling that you had discovered a secret spot.

That sense of mystery helped define the brand and gave meaning to the name. What started as a hidden ramen shop eventually earned national attention, including an episode on Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives with Guy Fieri in 2015.

Exterior of a bar or restaurant with a large logo on the window reading 'The Fill' and a chalkboard sign outside stating 'Open early at 4:00.' The sidewalk in front has a red, blue, and white painted sign with the words 'Ronnie's' and 'Shop.'
Hand holding black chopsticks lifting cooked ramen noodles above a blue cloud-shaped sign with white text on a pink background.
A bowl of ramen with broth, green vegetables, pink pickled ginger, and black sesame seeds, with chopsticks on top.
A dish with sliced cooked meat, a raw egg yolk on top, and a small side salad with purple microgreens.
A plate of pasta topped with shredded cheese, garnished with microgreens and black sesame seeds.
Six different bottles of beer lined up on a bar counter inside a lively bar or pub with colorful interior decor.
Dim sum dumplings served in a bamboo steamer basket, garnished with microgreens, on a white plate.
A glass of whiskey with ice and a strip of bacon on a skewer, served on a white tray. To the side, a bowl containing sliced cucumbers and yellow pickled vegetables.

LOGO

I created the Toki logo drawing inspiration from the iconic flower shape found on the flag of Taipei, paying tribute to the original chef/owner’s birthplace. The shape was reinterpreted into a bold, contemporary mark that bridges Taiwanese heritage with a modern urban restaurant experience with bold and exciting colors.

At the center of the emblem, I hand-lettered “T O K I,” resembling a traditional East Asian character. This creates a visual puzzle that reveals itself gradually. From a distance, viewers perceive a single symbolic mark. Up close, the restaurant’s name emerges from within the form. Some people look at it for a few minutes and then proclaim, “Ohhhhhhh!”

The flower shape surrounding the lettering serves as both a tribute and a frame. It symbolizes heritage, community, and gathering, while the contained monogram gives the logo the feeling of a seal mark, similar to the personal stamps traditionally used throughout East Asia.

One of the most gratifying outcomes of my logo design has been seeing friends/employees love the restaurant so much that they’ve gotten it tattooed on themselves.

A blue cloud-shaped logo with white stylized symbols or writing inside, outlined in black.
A tattoo on a person's forearm featuring a cloud outline with Asian characters inside. The background appears to be a bar or a room with a variety of decor and pinball machines.
People sitting on bar stools and socializing in a dimly lit bar with exposed brick walls. A large mural with a stylized design is hanging on the wall behind them.
Interior of a bar with a white brick wall featuring a large black graphic of a flower with stylized characters inside, three wooden bar stools in front, and a graffiti-style artwork on the front of the bar counter.

BTS - TOKI DOOR ART

For a dining room art installation, I wanted to showcase the logo in a way that felt unexpected and true to the restaurant’s scrappy beginnings.

Rather than using a traditional canvas, I sourced a pair of salvaged doors from a local architectural reuse center and worked with our contractor to sand and cut them into six sections. I then reassembled the pieces into a 5’×5’ panel and hand-painted the logo using a custom stencil.

Watching the fragmented pieces come back together revealed something larger than the artwork itself. The finished installation reflected the spirit of the restaurant: built from humble materials, assembled with intention, and transformed into something entirely new. To this day, it remains one of my favorite pieces I created for TOKI.

Four wooden cabinet doors laid flat on a wooden floor, showing different stages of sanding or refinishing.
A large white sheet with a cut-out design of a logo featuring a stylized apple shape and a Korean character inside, placed on a wooden floor.
A pair of scissors, a pen, a mechanical pencil, a ruler, a sticker with a blue cloud and white text, all arranged on a beige surface.
A wooden table with a black design painted on it, featuring a large black line and a vertical black line, placed on a zebra-patterned tablecloth. The table is in a room with a door and some furniture.
Large canvas with a black outline of a circular logo and vertical design elements, placed on a wooden floor near a set of painted cabinet doors.
Painted street art of the word 'YES' inside a speech bubble on a white garage door.
Pages from a branding manual featuring the Toki Underground logo in multiple variations, including the main logo, color variants, stacked and horizontal versions, with instructional text.
Open pages of the Toki Underground Brand Manual, displaying sections on business cards and stationery envelopes, with example graphics and contact information.
Open pages from a brand manual showing color identification charts and color codes with diagrams of primary and secondary colors and their various shades.
Two pages from a book or manual, one page showing colorful comic art with graffiti and graffiti art, and a cartoon character resembling a bunny, the other page featuring black and white comics of various characters including a bunny eating ramen, a person with a hat, and a person with glasses.
Two pages from a typography manual showing primary and secondary typefaces, Telegrafico Regular and Gotham Regular and Bold, with sample alphabet and numerals in different styles.
Openbook of the Toki Underground Brand Manual showing T-shirt designs, one with a blue logo on the front and the other with white text on the back reading 'DC'S FIRST RAMEN HOUSE'.

TOKI HOMEMADE ENDORPHINE SAUCE

Person holding three bottles of hot sauce labeled 'Endorphin' against a plain background.

The interior of Toki was designed to feel less like a restaurant and more like a hidden discovery. Inspired by the underground skate, art, and street cultures of Taipei, we transformed an overlooked attic into a space layered with found objects, local artwork, graffiti, and custom installations.

Skateboard motifs appear throughout the restaurant, a nod to one of the owners’ roots in the skateboarding community. Donated decks were repurposed into large-scale art installations and architectural elements, bringing color, texture, and personality into the space. Vintage Pachinko machines, salvaged materials, and collected artifacts further reinforced the feeling that every corner had a story.

Collaboration with local DC artists played a major role in shaping the restaurant’s identity. Artist Kelly Towles created the graffiti installations throughout the dining room, Geisha women portraits, a “Toki Bunny” cartoon character as well as unreleased sketches of a comic series called The Toki Chronicles. Takashi Nakajima hand-illustrated the immersive black-and-white mural that wraps the bathroom walls. Together, these contributions helped create an environment that felt raw, creative, and distinctly personal, more like an underground gallery than a traditional restaurant.

Close-up of bowls filled with salad on a counter at a food station, with a blurred colorful menu or decoration backdrop.
A comic strip titled "The Toy Chronicles" featuring cartoon characters experiencing various everyday activities and emotions, with a focus on a cat-like character trying ramen noodles.
Illustration of a woman in a hat with a wide brim, holding a sign that reads 'TOKT'. She is wearing multiple necklaces with crosses, and the background has a blue floral pattern with an orange decorative element.
Three small collectible figures inside a clear plastic box: a black and yellow monster with horns and sharp teeth on the left, a cartoon character in the middle with a red hat and a flag, and a skeleton bear on the right with a skull head and ribcage pattern, all on a yellow surface.
Crowded bar or restaurant with people standing and chatting, illuminated by hanging lanterns, with a wooden ceiling and a vibrant mural or artwork on the wall.
Close-up of a black-and-white mural with cartoonish characters and abstract designs, partially visible on a wall.
Interior of a lively bar or restaurant with wooden ceiling beams, hanging lanterns, and a decorated wall with bottles and artwork. People are socializing and using their phones.
Close-up of a pinball machine with a glass cover. In the background, there are wooden bar stools along a counter in a colorful, casual restaurant or bar setting.
People standing on a staircase inside a dimly lit venue, with a brick wall on one side and decorative hats hanging on the ceiling.
Business card for Toki Underground featuring a blue cloud logo, contact information, and a background of graffiti art.

CIRCULAR MENU

A circular black and white menu featuring various sections for ramen, appetizers, sides, desserts, and beverages, with specific dishes and descriptions listed in each section.

With only six menu categories to organize, I saw an opportunity to rethink the traditional restaurant menu. Rather than relying on a standard rectangular layout, I designed the front of the menu as a circle, dividing each section into its own wedge. Guests had to physically rotate the menu as they explored their options, creating a small moment of interaction and discovery before ordering.

The circular form was inspired by traditional Chinese porcelain plates, particularly the decorative borders often found around their edges. Reinterpreting that detail through the brand, I created a custom repeating pattern using the logo mark and wrapped it around the perimeter of the menu. The result was a piece that felt both familiar and contemporary, blending cultural references with a playful dining experience. In case the circular was too difficult to read, I repeated the menu items traditionally in a 3-column format on the backside.

By turning a functional object into something unexpected, the menu became another opportunity to reinforce the restaurant’s identity and encourage guests to engage with the brand in a memorable way.

Menu titled TOKI UNDERGROUND with sections for Ramen Noodles, Ramen Add-Ons, Beverages, Dumplings, Sides, and Desserts, and a cartoon character of a bunny rabbit wearing a hat and sneakers.
Black and white cartoon illustration of a mouse wearing red sneakers, a headband with a swirl pattern, and a hat with long ears protruding.
Close-up of a fabric surface with a blue-embossed cloud shape and a silver maze icon inside it.