The client, Sunshine City Corporation, is a commercial real estate leasing and management company that owns and operates Sunshine City, a large, mixed-use commercial centre in Tokyo's Ikebukuro district. The company had also acquired a 60 year-old, 3-storey building nearby that they were converting into a pub restaurant and event space, and asked us to develop a branding and design concept for the renovated building. From the outset, we felt the best way to maximise the building’s value would be to give it an identity that contrasted with and complemented the soaring urban modernism of Sunshine City. We also felt it was important to reflect the character of the Ikebukuro area, which was historically a rather chaotic place made up of a maze of back alleys and byways. To help us achieve these objectives, we defined 'informality', ‘anarchy', and 'inclusivity' as keywords to guide our design development.

Pubkeeper’s Musings

Before I opened this pub, I traveled the world.

Although I didn't take many photos (I tried not to!),

some of the sights I saw are ingrained my memory.

A garden in spring, overflowing with fruit.

The brilliant blue midsummer sky. A lake in an exotic setting.

Vineyards in autumn, with their leaves blowing in the wind.

Majestic cliffs in the freezing cold of winter.

An island that was strangely fascinating.

I also saw papillon in wildly different shapes and patterns,

and felt envious of the wings that gave them freedom.

Embarrassingly, I think it was that envy

(the desire to become a papillon myself)

that made me want to open this pub.

And when I decided to brew my own beer,

I used the memories of my travels as an inspiration.

Precisely because they are not preserved in photos,

beer is my way of sharing my memories with others.

So what were the countries and places I visited?

Well, I'm going to keep that a secret. Because I want

the papillon who live there to continue to live in peace.

'Papillon' is the French word for butterflies and moths. Long ago, Japanese also only had one word for butterflies and moths. Sometimes it's good to free oneself from labeling things too much. After all, names and titles shouldn't really matter. We should all be free to spread our wings in our own way. That's why we created the Papillon Building.

___________

This one, please.

Thank you.

Cheers.

It’s fun.

___________

The name Ikebukuro is written with the characters for 'pond' and 'sack' — a reference to the many sack-shaped ponds that used to be found in the area. But that was many, many centuries ago, even before the Muromachi period.

___________

Are you a rugby enthusiast?

Do you live in Toshima Ward?

Do you enjoy solo travel?

Do you prefer attending music festivals in person rather than online?

Do you like addition more than subtraction?

Lager Beer / IPA / Session IPA / Hazy IPA / Italian Pilsner/ Wheat Beer

___________

In the daytime, butterflies fold their wings to hide from birds.

At night, moths wave their long wing tails to deceive bats.

___________

• I'm a caterpillar. I live to eat.

• Will I become an elegant and beautiful butterfly?

• Or a mysterious and exotic-looking moth?

• I'm not really sure. But as soon as I can fly,

I'm going to go where they serve good beer.

___________

Pubkeeper’s Musings

A place to drink beer is called a pub.

But do you know why?

It's short for 'public house'.

It's not just a place to drink.

It's a place to socialize and get together.

A place where people from all walks of life can gather

and share their unique experiences with one another.

That's what I wanted to create here in Ikebukuro.

A place that would get talked about. Like….

'Have you heard about the Papillon Building, where fashion trends begin?'

'Did you know that song was written by a group that hangs out at the Papillon Building?'

You know....that kind of talk.

___________

Here's to spreading our wings!

___________

Our art direction sought to reflect the character of the Ikebukuro area, which was historically a rather chaotic place made up of a maze of back alleys and byways. Using the keywords 'informality', ‘anarchy', and 'inclusivity' to guide us, we designed the building's logo, as well as thematically linked posters, leaflets, coasters, craft beer labels and other promotional materials. We used butterflies and moths as a visual motif, and subtly graduated background colours to evoke a sense of night and day. For the primary brand illustration, we created a cutaway view of the building that evokes the image of a cruise ship bustling with onboard activities and passengers bound for exciting and exotic destinations. We also designed a custom font for use in the logo, signage and promotional materials, and incorporated multi-lingual text into the leaflets to reflect the multi-ethnic dishes offered on the pub restaurant menu.