missiecindz.com | Missie Cindz

A sweet thank you for those who have supported what I do. More exciting food stuff coming up soon.

Being a Graphic Designer hasn’t been easy, it’s been a long, fast-paced ride where I’ve fallen but then I rise again. I’ve made mistakes but then I learn and reflect from them. I live to learn new things every day. I’ve been hurt but I’m alive. I’m a ‘human’ Designer – where I communicate messages (whether from visuals or type) to prompt actions and emotions, I’m not perfect but I’m really thankful with my design tools and what I’ve experienced so far.

Thank you for showing an interest to my Missie Cindz food campaign and liking all the delicious things I’m happily curating and sharing with you all so far.

A huge sweet thank you from me to you! Your encouragement and tweets all help to inspire me to design more tasteful things, so keep them coming :) – Cindy/Missie x

Sushi Express 'Sushi To Go' branding and packaging

Sushi Express 'Sushi To Go' packaging developments – previous concepts

Sushi Express ‘Sushi To Go’ identity and packaging design. July 2011.

I was well happy when the people at Sushi Express came to find the Missie Cindz to talkabout a new packaging design. With a plan to reintroduce sushi ‘to take-out’ to the retail customer through a new brand that would be relevant and meaningful to the consumer looking for a fresh and healthy alternative to traditional on-the-go fare.

Sushi Express offer grab-and-go sushi, boxed meals, lunch deals and Japanese drinks within small footprints located on consumer pathways – You can eat-in, have meals delivered or pop into the restaurant for a collection. I developed the concept using bold, striking visuals and Japanese-inspired materials. It was important for Sushi Express to capture the ‘eating healthily on the go’ audience in their environment and to inspire supermarkets to start selling packaged sushi to Sheffielders, allowing people in areas where Sushi Express hadn’t arrived yet to take their first steps in discovering how tasty and healthy sushi can be.

The Design
I wanted the ‘take-out’ sushi brand to echo excitement and joyful eating moments – kinda like saying wave ‘cheerio’ to boring sandwiches/canned soups and say ‘helloooo’ to the healthy and exciting ‘Sushi To Go’ range! Product imagery helped create appetite appeal – plus knowing what’s in the box and familiarising each sushi item with the consumer helps to connect with the food we’re eating. I looked to offering real health benefits for consumers looking for a healthier food choice. ‘Sushi To Go’ resonate with Sushi Express’s ethos: offering a wide variety of sushi at affordable prices whether to dine in, for takeaway or delivery.

There are six different labels (box A – F), each having their own personal colour which compliments its sushi contents. For example green for vegetarian, purple for more luxurious meat items and blue for lighter sushi fillings. The shape gives the packaging some dynamics and depth, makes good use of the containers space and presents the food in a way which helps it say ‘hey, eat me!’ :)

Sushi Express ‘Sushi To Go’ is available in their restaurant on Milton Street, Sheffield and in Tai Sun Oriental Supermarket (17-19, Matilda St or Sheffield’s Parkway) from Wednesday 3rd August. Let me know your thoughts on the packaging – it’s always good to hear constructive feedback. Thanks! – Cindy/Missie

I am a motivated and dynamic Designer, who relishes the complexities of the design world, deeply passionate about things making sense, especially in print and the web…you’ll usually find me CMYK’d and RGB’d wired up. Oh and did I mention I like all things food related too? ;)

I decided to take a break from my usual food snapping – yes, I never thought I’d get to say that either, and met up with Mark Howe for a fantastic photo shoot. Forget purple, today was when I got peachy!

Say hello to Mark. Mark is a Photographer and Creative Designer who always has simple and smart ideas. His work makes me smile and say “Of course!”. He likes to play with light and shadows, and to experiment with interesting ways of telling ‘tasteful’ stories.

Modelling: Definitely harder than it looks
I’d never done anything like this before, it was definitely an experience! Modelling is often unfairly considered as barely a proper occupation, judged by the low difficulty factor in sitting still for hair and makeup or to change in and out of clothes. I’ve never had to spend a couple of hours standing in front of a camera (or sitting inside a posh vintage car) and displaying a wide variety of natural yet glamorous (angry ;) expressions and poses for photos – plus attempting to fulfill Mark’s “vision” and trying not to mess up a 2 hour make-up job in between changes. I’m worn out from just thinking about it. Trying on clothes and sitting still in make-up (I’m usually the one behind the camera and taking pictures of beautiful foods, not the other way!), is by no means easy as it looks!

I happily enjoyed cups of tea and food talks with Mark in between shots. Who doesn’t love a photographer that makes a good cup Yorkshire tea?

Mark has updated his photosite with some great new work, check it out here: http://www.markhowephoto.co.uk or check out his creative portfolio here.

Snaps worth remembering
Mark is a great photographer, very talented designer and illustrator, with a really friendly and funny charm! If you ever get the opportunity to work with him you won’t be disappointed…Hopefully there’ll be more opportunities to work with Mark and I’m already deciding what to wear and how to ‘Strike a Pose!’ :)

The Missie Advent 2010 Calendar Has Launched!!! (I know I should’ve posted this on the first but because Sheffield has been so snowed in these past few days, I’ve had a little bit of a delay =)

The third colourful door of the Missie ‘picture’ calendar lurked a Christmas Angel :) – wonder what will be in tomorrows? http://twitpic.com/xmasangel

The second colourful door of the Missie ‘picture’ calendar lurked a Mr Snowman – hope no-one misses their carrot missing: http://twitpic.com/mrsnowman

The first colourful door of the Missie ‘picture’ calendar lurked a Christmas tree: http://twitpic.com/missiexmastree

Come back tomorrow to find out what’s lurking behind door no. 4 (remember, I don’t usually open my creative doors ’til really late at night so watch out for the illustrations). I welcome all feedback, let me know what you think – look forward to reading any comments.