LookatLao Studio

13/12/2025

Just launched a new website for one of my oldest clients, Monsoon. Simplified everything, doubled-down on photographs, and gave the logotype a slight refresh. I also created a custom illustration/collage for the background of the home page (and footer). We also updated the parent Saigon Siblings website and may expand that one in the future. Fun project!

Note: While I’ve also designed several websites for Monsoon's younger sibling Ba Bar in the past, the current Ba Bar site is not my design—though it does feature many of my photos and graphics.

28/03/2025

Back in 2017 I was hired to create some artwork to hang behind the bar at the new Ba Bar location in U-Village. Previously we got permission to use a record cover from Sublime Frequencies that features an iconic mid century Vietnamese hipster smoking a cigarette to hang behind the bar at Capitol Hill. I wanted to play off that record cover somehow, but create something original. Soon enough an idea for a photoshoot was hatched. I brought in Ba Bar owner Eric Banh's twin sisters-in-law and shot a bunch of photos of them in various potential album cover poses. The end result ended up becoming a faux album cover I designed called "Saigon Funk & Soul Hits".

Here are some outtakes and the final result which still hangs behind the bar at U Village. Special thanks to Diane and Diana who brought an entire wardrobe selection and assembled various outfits on the fly—they were pros. And, thanks to the the late, great chow chow Mr. Winston for hanging out with us the entire time.

23/03/2025

I have worked with Mark Fuller since the very first iteration of his fantastic restaurant Spring Hill. That joint soon became Ma‘ono Fried Chicken & Whisky and then eventually led to a growing Seattle restaurant empire. Recently, I’ve been updating and refining his Ma‘ono Fried Chicken brand with logo updates, digital menus, photos, signage, a new website, and even some custom illustration work. Mark Fuller is one of the best chefs Seattle has ever known, you should eat his food as soon as you are able.

01/05/2024

New catering logo and delivery boxes for the gang down at Ba Bar. I snuck an easter egg into that pattern somewhere, because why not?

28/06/2023

Just produced some new promotional boards for Ba Bar on Capitol Hill. I ended up using a text-based AI to conjure the bowl of soup and beer glass as an experiment. It actually came out pretty cool (with some additional tweaking in Photoshop). The future is going to be interesting…

17/04/2023

In a first for LookatLao Studio, just completed the rebranding of the historic Co-op Supermarket in Silver City, New Mexico. I went all in on my love for the big, bold lines and colors of the mid seventies—with an enthusiastic nod to the wonderful work of Verner Panton.

The mark itself is a modern reimagining of the original 1974 Silver City "handshake" logo that was actually carved into a piece of wood that still hangs over the entry. The specific shapes and color palette directly represent the mesas and surrounding landscape of New Mexico.

Side note: Silver City Food Co-op was the favorite market of the late, great actress Nichelle Nichols. Live long and prosper!

24/02/2023

Just launched a new website for the fine folks at Cactus Restaurants. We really wanted to focus on the menu experience this time around now that people are using phones and tablets more and more within the walls of the actual restaurant. While paper menus are slowly making a comeback post pandemic, there’s always going to be a need for some form of digital menu—and big juicy photos are always a plus!

Anyway, have a look at the new site. I’ve been working with Cactus for well over ten years now and I can see another ten on the horizon. ¡Salud!

https://www.cactusrestaurants.com

25/04/2022

Back in 2003 before I had finally landed that sweet agency job, I met a guy who was waiting tables at a Thai restuarant on Seattle's Broadway. He was about to open a new Thai restaurant in West Seattle with his partner and they were looking for a website. Save for a few menu changes, the site that I created for them nearly twenty years ago had been alive and well on the interwebs grinding away non stop. Buddha Ruksa is one of the best Thai restaurants in Seattle without question (and I'm not just saying that, I used to live in Thailand).

But after all those years, they were long overdue for a brand refresh. They recently hired me to updated logos, menus and the website. Along with a fresh photo library to work from.

Visit Buddha Ruksa soon—and the new website! Nui and Michael are great hosts, and Chef Panithit makes some really great food. Recommended! อร่อยมาก!

buddharuksa.com

25/04/2021

After ten long years of portfolio silence, the brand new LookatLao Studio website is live! Check out what I've been up to in the last decade.

LookatLao is a smallish design, photography, and video studio beased in Seattle. We tend to work with people who like food and drink.

31/03/2021

We recently launched a new website for The Saigon Siblings. A lot of the features have been turned off due to COVID, but hopefully it will return it its full glory soon.