DÉZIMA
Summary
A self directed identity for DÉZIMA, a fictional Tokyo coffee shop. The concept traces coffee's arrival in Japan through Dejima, the trading island that was the country's only link to the West for two centuries.
Services
Branding
Naming, Stationery
Year
2022
Timeline
Q1 2022
Tools
Adobe Creative Suite
Team
Francisco Loreto
Context
A personal branding exercise, self briefed and built solo. The task I set: a coffee shop in Tokyo with a concept solid enough to hold across naming, identity, and application.
Insights
A strong name does the heavy lifting. Anchoring the brand to a real historical detail, the island where coffee first reached Japan, gave every later decision a reason to exist.
The Problem
Tokyo is one of the most saturated coffee markets in the world. A new shop needs a point of view, not just a clean logo, or it disappears into the noise.
The Solution
I built the concept around Dejima, the fan shaped island in Nagasaki Bay that was Japan's only contact with the West for two centuries and the route coffee took into the country. That story set the name, DÉZIMA, and a visual language built on two cultures meeting: Japanese restraint and negative space against Western editorial structure. I carried it through logo, typography, stationery, and store application.
The Outcome
A complete identity system, from naming rationale to applied mockups, built solo in one quarter. It stands as a study in giving a brand a real conceptual root instead of a surface style.
