At the crossroads
of culture

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Inspiring impossible stories in Japan and beyond

Kodansha is Japan’s largest publisher, responsible for bringing some of the most incredible stories to the world — from Akira and Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon to non-fiction and children’s books, as well as the discovery of globally renowned author Haruki Murakami. Since its founding in 1909, Kodansha’s work has grown to the point of ubiquity in Japan. Their brand presence, however, was rarely felt and garnered little affinity compared to the success of their titles and cultural contribution.

Facing their 112th anniversary, and with its core business evolving across platforms and markets, Kodansha decided to embark on their first holistic rebrand. They felt a revitalized brand both at home and abroad could reset the foundation for a bright, new chapter in Kodansha’s own story.

Over the course of a year and a half we collaborated with Kodansha to create a new brand and adapted it for key markets around the globe. This process would include a revolution in strategic ethos that culminated in a new brand purpose: Inspire Impossible Stories. 

From here our partnership would span many touchpoints, from brand publisher standards, to trade show designs, to sonic and logo mnemonics, brand launches and a brand film in collaboration with the director Juan Cabral.

One Kodansha

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An identifiable, iconic and universally applied logo had yet to exist in Kodansha’s vast history. The challenge at hand was to create a logo and system that could feel both modern and timeless, be infused with Japanese DNA and have mass global appeal.

Kodansha’s new purpose pointed to pushing boundaries, opening up readers to new realities by merging unexpected cultures and characters—all together into one place. The brand’s signature behavior and resulting symbol reflected this: rooted in the core idea of intersection – between creators and fans, tradition and innovation, and a remarkable set of genres and audiences. While active space symbolizes Kodansha’s role at the crossroads of culture, the negative space acts as a canvas for their creators and as windows to new worlds that move and inspire readers. Tangentially, the mark resembles a traditional Japanese hanko as well — the signature of quality craftsmanship, a mark for Kodansha to leave on their content.

Global Reach

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Kodansha’s new brand encompasses multiple international markets and required specific localization of brand elements and applications. For usage in their home market, we adapted the brand design into the Japanese language and layouts system, creating a custom-type kanji business name and a comprehensive Japanese digital brand hub for internal and external use.

For the brand launch at Kodansha’s headquarters in Tokyo, we created a range of applications from signage, to corporate applications and to welcome materials to onboard employees to the new brand.

Brand Forward

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For anime, live-action, and video content, Kodansha’s new mnemonic brings to life the brand sensorially in motion and sound. The audio is composed to capture the spirit of Kodansha’s new purpose, “Inspire Impossible Stories” and establishes an emotional connection between the brand and the viewer.
Audio Partner: Antfood

Kodansha’s symbol is used as a strong graphic element to create unity and to act as a connector between the brand and its IP. Derived from the angles of the symbol is a system of panels that can be used to house content and imagery.