Developed by international ad agency bbdo for the umino seaweed shop, design nori is a series of intricately laser-cut seaweed for rolling sushi. Each sheet of five designs— sakura (cherry blossoms), mizutama (water drops), asanoha (hemp), kikkou (turtle shell), and kumikkou (tortoise shell)— is based on an element of Japanese history or symbology, meant to bring beauty, good fortune, growth, happiness, and longevity. Because of the precision required in the cutting process, the seaweed itself is a thicker variety from the sanriku region of miyagi. Umino plans to use the leftover clippings to sell as furikake topping or recompile into other sheets. The project was commissioned to respark the sale of nori following the tsunami in japan of 2011, at a time when umino director hiroyuki umino notes that japanese are eating less seaweed than in the past.
