Jizake Quest is a Japanese sake importer based in California. They partnered with Sasaki Sake Brewery in Japan to create a sake specifically crafted to pair well with ramen. After successfully launching a previous label for the Italian market, they aimed to develop a new design tailored for the U.S. audience.

I designed a manga-style illustration sake label for Jizake Quest. Although this style wasn’t my strongest area at first, I kept an open mind, welcomed feedback, and used AI-generated references to help guide the final character design. In addition to the design, I focused on selecting appropriate font sizes and establishing a clear typographic hierarchy to ensure the label was both informative and visually appealing.

This project was my first time designing a sake label, and it needed to reflect both Japanese culture and manga-style illustration. As a longtime fan of manga, I was excited but creating this style was a new challenge for me.

I explored three initial design drafts, focusing on simple, cute characters and emphasizing the slurping action of eating ramen. These playful concepts aligned with my strengths, but my client preferred a more realistic manga aesthetic. To help guide the direction, he provided AI-generated reference images featuring detailed, expressive characters.

After receiving my client’s feedback, I revised the design and created a new character with a more realistic manga style which is slurping noodles in a way that feels authentic and expressive, just like the joy of eating ramen. I kept the character in a T-shirt to reflect the contrast: the sake is served cold, making it the perfect pairing with a hot bowl of ramen.