Hapa menu icons by Needmore Designs

Hapa Asian Fusion

Witness the rebirth of a culinary treasure.

Hapa Asian Fusion is a well-loved Beaverton restaurant that has been quietly developing a neighborhood following over the past decade. What began as a simple logo redesign project quickly blossomed into a complete brand overhaul, from menu and identity design to interiors and website production.

Hapa Asian Fusion logo by Needmore class=

Hapa is the child of owner and chef Yoon whose passion for cooking began at four (making traditional Korean cuisine with her grandmother in her home of Seoul, South Korea) and took her right through Le Cordon Blue and on to opening her own restaurant.

Yoon’s dream has been to create a space where everyone feels welcome. The word hapa refers to a person who is partially of Asian descent. It counjours up the idea of a coming together of cultures. Thus, a simple name adjustment was in order and Hapa Grill became Hapa Asian Fusion. That settled, we crafted a logo, illustrated icons, and consulted on a simplified menu.

illustrations of bento

Interior Design

Our kick-off meeting for the project was a feast at Hapa. We brought our family and Yoon brought hers. She cooked for us all. During our time there, we couldn’t help but imaging how we could transform the space around us to show off the beautiful food we were eating and the spirit of the family we were spending time with. Little did we know, we’d soon have that opportunity.

As our logo project was wrapping up, we were invited to continue our collaboration into the interior space.  Here, we focus on comfortable, modern interior with plenty of white space and natural materials. Our goal was to create a spot with enough pull to bring Portlanders like us out of our city comfort zone while also still being a location locals flock to again and again.

While the menu is a kaleidoscope of dishes, it takes direction from Korean and Hawaiian influences. Thus, for the interior mural, we brought in the hibiscus flower, which is both the Hawaiian state flower and Korea’s national flower.

Hapa mural close
Michael Paulus painting mural

Tea paint wall mural hand-painted by Michael Paulus

Kandace Brigleb

Producer, co-founder of Needmore. Currently residing on the left coast.