The Challenge
Small restaurants and independent chefs rarely get the editorial, brand-led web presence their craft deserves. Most end up with a template builder or a single page that flattens the story into stock food photography and a booking widget. I wanted to show a prospective restaurant client what a custom, hand-built microsite can actually do: a quiet, considered piece of brand storytelling, no template, no CMS, no compromise.
The Solution
Designed and built a six-page editorial microsite from scratch in plain HTML, CSS, and vanilla JavaScript: no framework overhead, no build pipeline. Custom typography pairing, a deliberately restrained dark palette, full-bleed photography, and editorial copy that earns its space. Includes home, omakase menu, experience, gallery, reservations, and FAQ, each crafted to read like a chapter rather than a tab.
The Results
A production-ready, pretty-URL, Vercel-deployed concept site hosted under /hagane on this portfolio. Built and shipped in 3 days as a tangible pitch deliverable: instead of a slide deck describing what the client could have, they click through the real thing.