DNP Tokyo has a long and proud history as a printing company. Today, their offer has been extended to all aspects of international media. That means visitors and influence from the west are as much a part of the tradition they are creating today as Japanese culture. DNP asked us to reflect this duality in a “democratic” signage system that would be easy to use and understand for everyone while imparting a sense of their roots and future. The headquarters also had plans for a monument at its entrance, which became part of our brief.

Because the Japanese and Roman alphabets have little in common, solving the problem of harmonising instructions on signs and direction boards in both languages was our first challenge. Our solution was to design a whole new family of pictograms, the Kitajima type family, and create a custom Roman typeface to complement it. For the granite monument at the entrance, we chose to “reverse” the three letters DNP—a nod to the traditional typesetting technique. We also designed interior and exterior furniture in the same visual tone.

Harmonising wildly different alphabets is largely an unexplored field of type design. But the visual connection between Japanese and English communication creates a sense of coherency and internationality—and for many visitors, makes a stunning impact. As DNP continues to grow and expand internationally, integrating a western aesthetic becomes more than just symbolically important—it translates into a business advantage for global opportunities.

For further information, please contact senior project manager Lars Larson