When shaping Nippon’s visual tone, the agency aimed to preserve the simplicity, calmness and depth of meaning inherent in matcha making, building a brand that felt loyal to its roots yet unmistakably modern – “an identity that carries the ritual of the past into the rhythm of today”, Emrah summarises. To reinforce this balance the team went for a type pairing of Maison Neue Extended and Eros: “one confident, bold, and contemporary; the other, a subtle nod to traditional Japanese calligraphy”, Emrah continues.

The brand’s logo also brings the ‘O’ into focus as a symbol of the product’s origin. With a soft shifting gradient, the shape references Japan title as ‘Land of the Rising Sun’, as well as connoting the traditional matcha bowl used for preparing the tea. A secondary logo of a stamp-like form also marks the brands physical applications and packaging, which was Bando’s take on a traditional Japanese Hanko stamp for Nippon: a personalised name stamp or seal, traditionally used in Japan as a substitute for a handwritten signature.

A big part of shaping the personality of Nippon for Ba’ndo beyond these considered logo marks was their use of soft, minimal illustrations. The team created a character to guide users through the entire journey of the drink “from its cultivation and preparation to serving and consumption”, says Emrah, introducing a tactile motion element that allowed this friendly character to dissolve and dissipate. “We envisioned a motion system inspired by the light, dynamic, and transient nature of matcha powder. Each floating particle captures the spirit of the Japanese concept ‘ichigo ichie’ — a moment that appears briefly, then disappears, never to be repeated. To achieve the effect, the design team at Ba’ndo combined 2D illustrations with digital particle simulations based on the real, natural movement of the powder.