Studio Jinki

Background

Studio Jinki was a new community activity support centre in Aichi built around an unusual proposition: combining Japanese cultural activities such as wadaiko, karate, tea ceremony and flower arrangement with a slower, more accommodating environment for people who needed somewhere to belong and reconnect with society.

I joined while the service itself was still being developed, initially to create its brand and visual identity.

Challenge

The founders wanted to move away from the institutional look and feel associated with conventional welfare services.

At the same time, making the brand too energetic or progressive could make it intimidating to the very people it was designed to support. The challenge was finding a balance between energy and calm, expertise and accessibility, while establishing a distinctive position in the local welfare landscape.

What I did

I facilitated brand workshops covering long-term vision, Why / How / What, audiences, competitors, brand personality and positioning, using the findings to establish the strategic foundation for the identity.

From there, I developed a modular visual identity based on geometric interpretations of the Japanese name じんき. The individual forms became a wider visual language that could work across logo variations, photography, print, signage, clothing and digital applications.

The bright colour palette and people-led art direction were intentionally different from traditional welfare communications, while the system was flexible enough to represent both active participation and quieter ways of using the service.

Outcome

The work created a complete brand system spanning strategy, identity, photography direction, brochure design, signage, apparel and web support.

The venture ultimately did not develop as originally planned, but the project remains a strong example of taking an early-stage business idea from strategic definition through to a fully realised visual brand.