#OMG is a Japanese restaurant in Hong Kong. The restaurant name #OMG is a hashtag label commonly used in several major social media platforms, such as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Google Plus, etc. Users create hashtags by placing a “#” sign before a word or a phrase. It allows them to express their feelings, and at the same time search for posts with the same hashtag. In the design of this restaurant, the designers have incorporated a lot of concepts that are associated with the Internet and social media. They have chosen magenta as the main color theme of this restaurant. This color not only resembles sakura, a symbol of Japan, but is also a mix of the white and red colors on the Japanese flag.
On the ceiling are some custom-made magenta lamps, criss-crossing each other illustrating a zigzag pattern. It resembles the pixelated image when a picture is being immensely enlarged. This web of lamps also represents how the Internet connects people around the globe, just like how hashtags enable users to browse stories of other people. Echoing with the design of the lamps, the floor patterns are also in zigzag shape. Customized homogeneous tiles form zigzag floor pattern, the designers have also customized magenta grouting to fill the gap between the tiles, which is of exactly the same color as other decorations in the restaurant.
To again resemble pixelated images, the designers picked square tables and chairs with right-angled corners. The booth seatings are made from solid surfacing to imitate rigid and angular pixels. The edges of the tables are painted in white oak color for decoration. These features of the furniture together create a harmonious and neat feeling. The name of the restaurant ‘#OMG’ on the main wall are being pixelated, presented in square forms, which continue to connect with the theme of this restaurant.