noirkeininomiya

Noir Kei Ninomiya

Kei Ninomiya. An outstanding Japanese fashion designer renowned for his avant-garde and innovative approach to fashion. The abstract intricacy of his artistry defies characterization: it’s a mood. He creates visible auras.

Kei Ninomiya : an outstanding Japanese fashion designer renowned for his avant-garde and innovative approach to fashion. The abstract intricacy of his artistry defies characterization: it’s a mood. He creates visible auras.

myideation

Finding a mark that encapsulates the “aura” of the brand while maintaining enough neutrality to avoid characterization was my task.

Although his work is grouped under one label, branding an artist such as Ninomiya requires a lot of thought. On one hand, you don’t want to constrict the artistry to a single mark or logo. Such a solution wouldn’t be fair to the approach of the designer. On the other hand, you want to create a recognizable brand mark that strongly represents the concepts behind his work.

Finding a mark that encapsulates the “aura” of the brand while maintaining enough neutrality to avoid characterization was my task.

myapproach

In order to maintain the conceptual quality of his work the simplest shape was imagined. A square. A black square. Highly conceptual, it is deprived of any characterization besides its colour, reminiscent of the name of the brand. It is both strong in presence, yet open to interpretation.

In order to maintain the conceptual quality of his work, the simplest shape was imagined: a square. A black square. The square encapsulates the overall approach of the designer, of the brand. Highly conceptual, it is deprived of any characterization besides its color, reminiscent of the name of the brand. It is both strong in presence, yet open to interpretation, which falls in line with Ninomiya’s work.

The square itself became the graphic device around which the branding system was developed. Whether it is alone, filled in, or simply implied, that strong shape remains recognizable throughout all brand assets.

The typography was designed to maintain a duality of weights between words. This contrast aims to portray the “connection” between elements that the designer so often strives to achieve.

generatingimagery

All imagery created to showcase the applications of the branding system was generated using artificial intelligence. Precise prompts were utilized within the software "Midjouney" to generate the base images. Subsequently, these base images were edited using image editing software to stylize them in accordance with the brand image of Noir.

All imagery created to showcase the applications of the branding system was generated using artificial intelligence. Precise prompts were utilized within the software "Midjouney" to generate the base images. Subsequently, these base images were edited using image editing software to stylize them in accordance with the brand image of Noir.

theoutcome

This branding project pushed me to adopt a fully conceptual process in order to solve a very peculiar communication task. This process taught me to accept simplicity and rely on the message that needs to be conveyed.

This branding project led me to adopt a fully conceptual process in order to solve a very peculiar communication task. As designers, we are often eager to bring our own visual approach to projects that have yet to be branded.

This project taught me to accept simplicity and rely on the message that needs to be conveyed. It was not my task to make the brand stand out; Ninomiya already does an outstanding job at that. My task was to encapsulate an “aura” in the simplest visual manner: Kei Ninomiya’s aura.