design for hotel kanra kyoto
v.i. design + sign design
credit:
produce, brand concept, architecture & interior design: UDS Ltd.
creative direction & art direction: shun kawakami, artless Inc.
art direction & design: kazuki kaneko, artless Inc.
design: shinsaku iwatachi, artless Inc.
symbol design: emmi narasaki, Styledesignworks
photographer: yuu kawakami, artless Inc.
client: hotel kanra kyoto, UDS Ltd.
creative direction & art direction: shun kawakami, artless Inc.
art direction & design: kazuki kaneko, artless Inc.
design: shinsaku iwatachi, artless Inc.
symbol design: emmi narasaki, Styledesignworks
photographer: yuu kawakami, artless Inc.
client: hotel kanra kyoto, UDS Ltd.
With the reopening of ‘hotel kanra kyoto’ in October 2016, artless Inc. was in charge of creating the visual identity as well as the signage system of the hotel.
The design tenet for this project was ‘Kirei-sabi’, an aesthetic sense and philosophy of Kyoto/Japan, which was realised through the logotype, typography, pictograms, and the tastefully weathered color scheme of coal black and copper red that were used in the signage and print materials.
While elements of traditional Japanese culture are present in all levels of the design, to meet demands of a growing inbound market in Kyoto, all written materials are in both Japanese and English. Our goal for this project was to build a new brand image of ‘hotel kanra kyoto’ that is international in scope with a Japanese essence.
