Nomura
Architects

Client Nomura Architects
Year 2024
Role Brand Identity
Scope Identity, Print, Digital
Hero image — Nomura Architects headquarters exterior, concrete and glass facade

Nomura Architects needed a visual identity that reflected their philosophy of honest materials and bold spatial thinking. The existing brand — a generic serif wordmark from 2008 — communicated none of this. We started from the architecture itself.

Over six months, we developed a comprehensive identity system rooted in the structural grid of their most celebrated building, the Kanda Cultural Center. The logotype is derived from the building's floor plan geometry, creating a mark that is both abstract and deeply specific.

Identity system overview — logotype construction, grid derivation from floor plan geometry
"Studio Kura didn't just design a logo. They found the visual DNA that was already embedded in our work and made it legible."

— Kenji Nomura, Principal

The typography system pairs a custom-modified geometric sans for the wordmark with a contemporary serif for editorial applications. We defined a strict color palette of raw concrete gray, structural black, and a single warm accent derived from the copper cladding used throughout Nomura's buildings.

Deliverables included stationery suite, signage guidelines for three office locations, a 120-page brand book, website redesign direction, and construction site hoarding templates. Every touchpoint references the same structural grid.

Application — stationery suite, business cards, letterhead on concrete background
Signage system — wayfinding applied to Kanda Cultural Center interior

Impact

0 Increase in brand recognition among target clients within 6 months of launch
0 New project inquiries attributed directly to the rebrand in Q1 2024
0 Pages in the comprehensive brand guidelines book
0 Office locations with new signage and environmental graphics