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SAKURA craft_lab 001 & 002

Product Development And Branding Service

SAKURA craft_lab was a concept born completely out of CIA’s comprehensive branding service. It began with defining Sakura’s brand DNA, subsequently generating the SAKURA craft_lab concept. It progressed with planning and developing the actual products, and proceeded still with the executions of advertising and marketing.

It started with the release of the SAKURA craft_lab 001, which was the embodiment of “New Nostalgia”. It was ideated as an “Evolving Pen”, a high quality and practical instrument that not only matured just as the first audience of Sakura did, but its brass material also continues to evolve in the hands of its users, providing them a redefined sense of aging along with a beloved tool.

The SAKURA craft_lab 001 won the 2018 Grand Prize for Stationary Shop Award for its design, while its successor, the SAKURA craft_lab 002 — a casual yet elegant design inspired by Sakura’s Coupy-pencils — was awarded with the 2018 Japan Good Design Award.

Projects

SAKURA craft_lab 005

SAGA COLLECTIVE

SAKURA craft_lab 001 & 002

GLOBE SPECS Ace Hotel

Drinking Yogurt

SAKURA craft_lab 004

Future City Development Studies & Research Book

Ueshima Coffee Lounge No.11

SAKURA craft_lab 003

OZAKI FLOWER PARK

Hanasaku Life Insurance

Greek Protein Yogurt

Solotime Telework Office

Michelin Guide Select, Ikkyu no Namida

Soil Home ehime Mikan

UNIQLO

Idemitsu Kosan Co. Ltd

Aoyama Flower Market

Ueshima Coffee Package Renewal

Nippon Gochiso Select

Ueshima Coffee Lounge

Ueshima Ice Coffee Package

KARUIZAWA MINAMIHARA FOREST

NIKE

Restaurant & Library cafe ARGO

MEGA Bank Next-generation financial institutions

Track Records

Uniqlo

In 1997, CIA provided Uniqlo a prototype branding synthesis. As a retailer aiming at listing TSE partly from the discounter in Ube City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, we offered UNIQLO’s marketing strategy planning, development of model stores and comprehensive branding work. As a result, UNIQLO achieved rapid growth by penetrating Japanese original products. President Yanai’s remarks at the time, “I want to make Japanese national clothes”, has grown to be a global brand that will now advance into the United States, the UK, France, Korea, Hong Kong and China.

Aoyama Flower Market

We developed the original flagship store prototype, ultimately leading to Aoyama Flower Market’s multi-store expansion. CIA continues to provide direction and strategy to the brand’s identity.

“Living With Flowers Everyday” is their core tagline.

MEGA Bank

CIA worked with Mega Bank to transcend the banking model, breaking from old traditions to rebuild and incorporate a structure based on the needs and expectations of today’s private clientele. Partnered with Neil M. Denari who is known for his progressive and innovative approach towards architectural design and visualization, Private banking expanded nationwide to Ginza, Yokohama, Umeda, Sapporo, Sendai, and sixteen other locations.

Peach

CIA was selected over eight international branding agencies in competition to provide a total branding service for the first ever LLC airline company in Japan. We proposed a lifestyle changing experience through logo design, aircraft graphics, interior design and uniform design.

Southwood

Alongside architect Yukiharu Takematsu, CIA constructed Japan’s first fire-preventive wooden structured building in Center Minami Station. Our concept entitled “Green Neighborhood” reduced an astounding 1,400 tons of CO2 and successfully fulfilled our vision of a melting pot for locals, tenants, and producers.

Idemitsu

Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd. was planning the development of a new visual identity of their service station, which serves as a touch point for the user at the milestone of its founding 95th anniversary and stock listing. In order to lead this plan, CIA won the idea competition and took charge of the project. Since 2007, about 5,000 Idemitsu SSs in Japan have been switched to new designs one by one. Idemitsu service station we see throughout the country switched to the new design, and successfully penetrated as new identity. Based on the concept of “First Class” and the support of evolving user’s car life with start-of-the-art technology, we made the design that considers the relationship between Idemitsu brand and motor sports.

Thinkpark

From an ordinary front office vertical station building to a new city that revolves around the relationship between civilization and nature so called “Green Urbanism” with the brand name “ThinkPark” was introduced. The facility provides a juxtaposing environment with combination of a forest around a commercial organic conductors. Since 2004, CIA participated in the ThinkPark project and been comprehensively involved in the project from total branding to identity development, architectural direction, commercial consulting and promotion strategy for over three years. Opened in the autumn of 2007, both the office and commercial leasing have cleared the target, and six months before the completion, all tenants moved in.