Uwajimaya Rebrand

Problem: Uwajimaya’s recent rebranding did not align with the experience of shopping there. How might we rebrand Uwajimaya to appeal to Uwajimaya’s customer base while honoring the tone of its roots.

Solution: Our primary approach when crafting the brand was a careful balancing of the characteristics we identified with the story being cozy with a harmonious atmosphere and a traditional Japanese aesthetic. To this end, we used primarily natural imagery and materials such as polished dark wood for a more approachable and traditional look. To bring in a sense of warmth, we used a lot of paper lanterns and door imagery, as when light shines through paper, it helps create a more intimate, homely atmosphere. The text we used had to bring a sense of Japanese traditionalism while maintaining approachability for an English-speaking audience, which led us to both a Japanese and English typeface for our headers. For added effect, we included vertical layouts for type. Finally, we stuck to a more natural color palette with earthier versions of green, red, and blue.