From ECAL:

In addition to the Folklore Fusion website, the project includes a trading card game, a publication, and an augmented reality feature. All set in OCR-X by Maxitype and Heisei Maru Gothic by Adobe.

mini studio is a French design atelier based in Paris and Tokyo, founded by Mia Thibierge and Justine Magnat-Biermé.

In 2025, we decided to rethink the identity to establish ourselves within the landscape of French and international graphic design studios.

The logo, inspired by medieval illumination and nature, reflects the founders’ appreciation for ornamentation and precious details—echoing the actual name of the studio.

GT Maru (Grilli Type), with its generous curves and playful demeanor, sets the studio’s name and geographical anchors, Paris and Tokyo. Its inspiration, Japanese signage, perfectly underscores mini studio’s international setting.

It is complemented by Matthieu Cortat’s Louize (205TF), whose typographic elegance, tinged with literary charm, reflects the studio’s affection for printed matter and typography.

It all comes together in the studio’s letterpress printed business cards.
The Japanese text on one of the cards was set in Yoshimichi Ohira’s Zen Old Mincho.

Bianco Bianco uses kimera’s Apparat for its logotype, paired with LL Ivory Mono across its visual identity. Source Han Serif serves for Japanese text. From the website:

BIANCO BIANCO is a Tokyo-based creative studio partnering with established global brands, cultural institutions, and spirited start-ups. Together, we craft culturally informed, cutting-edge strategies and campaigns that spark conversation, remain memorable, and drive results. We achieve this by staying attuned to the cultural zeitgeist and drawing on deep insights from our publications SABUKARU.ONLINE and GATA MAGAZINE. With a strong emphasis on collaboration and a multicultural team’s nuanced understanding of East and West, every project resonates across borders.

Commune Energy is a Japanese startup dedicated to bringing renewable energy to rural and depopulated areas, for instance by importing/installing EV charging stations. The full brand kit was developed by Studio Kaki in cooperation with branding collective nowthen. It shows a strong emphasis on community collaboration, symbolised by cooperating colourful shapes, and it includes a logo showcasing Easy Grotesk (designed by Alexander Rütten and Olivia Wood of Ligature Type, available from the TypeMates) .

On the website, the logotype is combined with headlines in Barlow Condensed (designed by Jeremy Tribby) and Zen Kaku Gothic New (designed by Yoshimichi Ohira) and Noto Sans JP (see Source Han Sans) for Japanese content.

Bad Head is a monthly event held every third Thursday at Pintology, a craft beer and whisky bar in Sasazuka, West Tokyo. The series features vinyl DJ sets, craft beer, and distinctive posters designed by Ian Lynam since the beginning. Many of them feature various Future Fonts fonts.

This poster seems to exist only on Instagram, but it’s an exemplary use of Superfluous. Ian goes all in, using, abusing, and overusing its features and emoji to turn the composition into a delightful postmodern mess. The supporting typeface appears to be a customized Copperplate Gothic.

Hello, Tokyo! compiles and translates articles from Tokyo City Guide issues published by Popeye between 2018 and 2025. It was issued by Magazine House under the art direction of Taro Kambe. Designed by Nari Kang and Nina Kitayama using Ohno Casual and ABC Marfa as the main typefaces on the cover, plus Gilroy, used for the info underneath the logo. The interior holds a generous selection of more Japanese and Latin fonts.

The tables of contents of this Kindle edition of the publication use Funkis.

Saffron Brand Consultants, co-founded by Wally Olins, designed the identity for the Setouchi destination on behalf of the West Japan Railway Company (JR West). The goal was to establish this region as Japan’s ‘third destination’, offering a calmer alternative to the Tokyo and Kyoto-Osaka hubs. Following a week-long immersion on the ground, the team built a strategy around the concept of ‘the extraordinary in plain sight’. This project transforms the train ride into a truly contemplative experience, inviting travelers to follow the peaceful rhythm of the Seto Inland Sea.

Visually, the work relies on a minimalist aesthetic that avoids the aggressive graphic codes of major metropolises. The layouts are highly airy, using white space to evoke the serenity of the island landscapes. The color palette, featuring deep blues and sandy tones, ensures consistency across all touchpoints, from stations to digital screens. Far from being a simple advertising campaign, the design offers a poetic narrative where every visual detail highlights a promise of authenticity and discovery.

At the heart of this identity lies a precise typographic choice: the Osmose typeface from the French foundry Blaze Type. This hybrid font blends a solid structure with fluid, almost liquid details, reminiscent of the water and surrounding nature. Saffron customized this base with specific ligatures, such as the overlapping o and u, to symbolize the connection between the islands. By utilizing Blaze Type’s modern design, the agency provides the Setouchi region with a soft, living visual signature that accompanies the traveler from the very first glance. The accompanying Japanese typeface appears to be Kozuka Gothic.

Design is for EVERYBODY is a book with five curated essays from Futuress, a non-profit organization based in Basel, Switzerland, translated into Japanese. It was designed by Manami Inoue, who also provided the translation. Yuto Miyamoto did the editing.

Gestura and Tazugane Gothic are used on the front cover. Tazugane Gothic is also used for the text on the back cover, but the Latin characters, numbers, and question mark appear to be set in Founders Grotesk, which they also use in the magazine by publisher Troublemakers. Founders Grotesk Mono appears to be used for the ISBN code.

The posters were screen-printed at the university studio.

Enpen Teien Shokukaku (縁辺庭苑小区画; “A small plot in a peripheral garden”) was a performance by the student group Tosok from Tama Art University in Hachioji, Tokyo. The event took place at SCHOOL in Mitaka, Tokyo. I designed the poster and flyer for the performance, featuring a layout that mixes an extensive variety of fonts.

For the large Japanese title on the poster, the fonts Iwata Fuku Marugo, Iwata Mincho, Wapuro Mincho, and Gothic MB101 are layered together. The small English title uses Tsukurimashou.

In the smaller text sections, I paired Japanese and English fonts as follows: Chu Gothic BBB with Lo-Res, Tsukushi A MaruGothic with VAG Rounded, and Tsukushi A Old Mincho with Garamond Premier.

The layout for the inside of the flyer repeats the same information while varying the typography. In addition to the poster’s fonts, I incorporated pairs such as DNP Shuei ShogoMincho with Didot, HanaKocho with Garamond Premier, and Midashi Go MB31 with Univers Next.

The flyers are offset printed and have a half-fold format.

First English edition of Japanese author Haruki Murakami’s 1980 novel Pinball, 1973, translated by Alfred Birnbaum and published by Kodansha, with cover art by Maki Sasaki. The prominent use of Peignot and Serif Gothic reinforce a 1970s feel.

The blue horizontal area is the obi strip (belly band) as issued with the earliest printings of this book, which was distributed only in Japan, as a pocket-sized paperback with jacket. The Japanese title (“1973年のピンボール”) uses Gona. The other Japanese fonts are unidentified. “Let’s read in English” seems to be oblique Univers, and “Kodansha English Library” is in Italia.

“Music Today: Into the Sound” was a concert featuring Takashi Matsudaira (bariton) and Hideaki Isobe (electronics). Organized by Miyuki Shiraishi Lab, it took place at the Musashino Art University Hall in July 2023. For the bilingual flyer, I paired Portrait and Hon Mincho.

Science of Design is one of the departments of the Musashino Art University in Kodaira, Tokyo. For the Open Campus 2023, I designed a folded leaflet combining Yu Gothic for Japanese text with Untitled Sans for English text.

Launched during the Tokyo Art Book Fair 2025 at the MOT Contemporary Museum of Arts, this book is presented as follows by its designer Black Skew:

This second edition is a creative exploration of the everyday graphics of Tokyo and its surroundings, with a particular focus on the dense network of visual information in the capital’s transport system.

The issue examines the graphic systems that shape how we move through the city: from the micro-typography of subway maps and arrows on asphalt, to pedestrian-level signage, street-side billboards, bus and metro stops, airport signage, tactile paving, and multilingual instructional graphics. From metro signage to roadside warnings, it frames Tokyo not only as a city of buildings, but as a city of signals.

The project moves between visual research and reinvention.

The typefaces used are Lay Grotesk by Massimiliano Vitti (Due Studio), Ufficio Mono, DGM Composta and Ufficio Display by Giulia Boggio (Dogma Studio), as well as Kozuka Gothic for Japanese text and Times New Roman.

It was printed by Lasergraph in Milan, Italy, on Munken Print 90gsm. The book spans 48 pages and is bound with saddle stitch.

1988 poster

A poster promoting the Mike Tyson vs. Tony Tubbs world heavyweight championship boxing match on 21 March, 1988 at the then newly-opened Tokyo Dome. It was designed by John C. Jay, with English-language typography by Neville Brody and portraits by Anthony Russo.

The poster features the initial versions of what would later become the fonts FF Tyson, FF World, FF Tokyo and FF Dome. The Japanese text uses Gona.

Official reissue from the collection The 100 Best Posters from Europe and the United States 1945–1990 (1994)

Detail

Detail

A 1993 poster recreating the typography of the 1988 poster for the release of the fonts by FontShop

Hitos del cine venezolano is an editorial and exhibition project by journalist and researcher Gil Molina. It is an unprecedented work within its genre, both in Venezuela and across Latin America, tracing 125 years of history through its most significant milestones.

Following four years of rigorous research – supported by filmmakers, critics, the CNAC, La Cinemateca Nacional, and La Hemeroteca Nacional, as well as the endorsement of 47 international film festivals such as Cannes, Venice, and Berlin – the project culminates in the book and exhibition titled Hitos del cine venezolano: 87 películas / 87 carteles. In this showcase, the graphic pieces have been reinterpreted by designers Ricardo Báez and Juan Mercerón.

Formula E is a single-seater motorsport championship for electric cars, the electric pendant to Formula 1. This championships focuses on sustainability and innovation in electric vehicles by reducing the footprint of the races through diverse means and compensating the remaining emissions (though I still wonder how the cars, racers and staff are traveling around the world).

For their rebranding with the launch of their ninth season in 2023, Formula E commissioned a script font, FE Torque, made by lettering artist Rachel Joy Price based on the new logo she designes. It’s used for main titles and to accentuate some words. A custom cut of NaN Jaune was also developed. Named FE Sans, it’s used for all other typographic materials.

The custom cut puts aside the signature touching/closed apertures of Jaune and brings calmer and more traditional structures to some characters such as a monocular a and g, an e with an horizontal bar, etc. The resulting font family is used for all the branding and communication of the FE brand, from the subtitle of their logo, their website, the on-site communication and signage during the races, social media, infographics, etc.

FE Sans also comes with dedicated titling alternates which bring notches – drawn almost like ink traps – to the stems of the capital letters.

See the full case study on the website of lead designer Tom Myers.

The cover of IDEA no. 411 embodies the theme of the special feature on Arabic calligraphy and typography. White text is set in the 29LT Ada Flat font from 29LT, and the emerald blue typographic elements were designed by Tarek Atrissi. Additionally used fonts include Univers and Plantin. The Mincho used for Japanese text is yet unidentified.

TeamFirst is a community-driven platform in Japan focused on fostering both individual careers and company growth. It unites forward-thinking professionals—bilingual talents included—and innovative companies via events, mentorship, and recruiting services.

For their rebrand, nowthen used Sagace as the main typeface, paired with Hauora Sans Medium for text.

NOT A HOTEL is evolving, with NIGO®︎ and Pharrell Williams joining as creative advisors and investors. This partnership marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter, driving forward bold projects both in Japan and beyond, including the upcoming “NOT A HOTEL TOKYO— THE NIGO HOUSE,” which is now under construction. Our journey is just beginning.

The website and branding identity feature Selecta, a sharp, contemporary sans serif whose modular forms echo NOT A HOTEL’s modern and experimental spirit.

MiMAKi is a premium food brand that reimagines umeboshi, the traditional Japanese preserved plum, through a contemporary lens. The brand carefully sources plums from a region in Japan celebrated for their exceptional quality, selecting each with care and processing them with meticulous attention. Once regarded primarily as a traditional food for older generations, umeboshi is now thoughtfully reinterpreted by MiMAKi to captivate younger audiences and health-conscious consumers around the world.

What emerged from market research was a clear trend: many umeboshi products rely heavily on traditional “Japanese” visuals, such as brush calligraphy, ink paintings, and classical decorative motifs. While these visuals honor tradition, they can also be perceived by younger or international consumers as old-fashioned or culturally distant. At MiMAKi, the brand deliberately avoids these conventional visual cues, instead embracing abstract and graphic expressions to give the packaging a sense of freshness and approachability.

The visual identity, including the logo, mark, and labels, are designed in harmony with the packaging. Starting from the round shape that symbolizes the umeboshi, abstract elements were created for each of the three flavors, all with variations in color and form. The labels, applied directly to the jars, serve as the product’s “face,” making the product approachable and accessible. By balancing visual distinction with functionality, this design creates a new approach to traditional food packaging.

Since its launch, the brand has steadily gained support from younger audiences through social media, and in recent years, it has also captured the attention of health-conscious consumers abroad. Its visual charm, regarded as cute and modern, has been widely praised, helping MiMAKi build momentum that now extends to major international cities, such as Los Angeles and New York.

MiMAKi is a project that demonstrates the power of design to carry traditional foods forward to the next generation, while bridging time and culture. By combining cultural heritage with innovation and a global perspective, this initiative aims to serve as a model for local design reaching from Asia to the world.

The main logo is a customized version of Akkurat, with the Japanese copy in S Mincho Soft.