KURAFT THE MOMENT with Iwate Kura beer.
By Landor, Tokyo, Japan
For Happy Birch Sake Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Brand Iwate Kura Beer
Winner in category Design & Branding
In subcategory Identity and Branding - Identity Design Small 10s
Project Description
With over a 100-year history in Japanese sake making, our client needed our help to make their amazing craft beer relevant. The existing packaging didn’t speak to the brand’s unique heritage and the design was similar to that of mainstream, non-craft domestic Japanese brands. The brief was to rebrand to bring out the DNA of the client’s unique homemade beer.
We looked to the roots of their brand and discovered their cornerstone in the art of Japanese craft beer making – it is all about the moments in time and uniquely Japanese approach that originates from the Kura, or house, where the beer is made. The single-minded focus on the house of beer attracts the core consumer target who respects the tradition of the Kura and its role in creating an authentic craft beer.
We looked to the roots of their brand and discovered their cornerstone in the art of Japanese craft beer making – it is all about the moments in time and uniquely Japanese approach that originates from the Kura, or house, where the beer is made. The single-minded focus on the house of beer attracts the core consumer target who respects the tradition of the Kura and its role in creating an authentic craft beer.
Agency Solution
Playing on the word for beer house – Kura – as it sounds like “cra” in craft, we rebranded the product and “kura-fted” the concept around the authentic elements derived directly from the beer house. We even extended the idea into the brand font, or “typo-kura-phy.” All the “kura-phic” patterns and elements were actually designed with traditional Japanese techniques and ink. Applications included everything one would find at a stylish craft-beer bar – coasters, entrance curtain (noren), signage, and the labels themselves.