The Museum of Narratives (MoN) is housed in a very special building in Tokyo that looks like a spiral. It has modern sustainable architecture and is made of traditional wood, recycled materials and native Japanese vegetation. It was recently selected by the UNESCO-backed Prix Versailles as one of the World's Most Beautiful Museums.
Evidently, it needed a name and an identity to match, which is where Pentagram came in. The museum was founded on the belief that culture is something living, evolving and which should be shared, something to participate in, and like the best rebrands, the brand strategy, name, verbal identity and visual system were all formed around this central premise.
In terms of the name, the museum needed something that would work across languages. MoN means gate in Japanese, which references the area's history as a gateway to Japan. The Museum of Narratives also suggests that culture is an ongoing exchange of ideas, stories and perspectives.
The museum houses a wide spectrum of activity, from manga and traditional performance to contemporary music and dance, which led Pentagram to develop the idea of culture as a continuous cycle of influence, reinterpretation and renewal.
The logo is my favourite part of the identity. It's a visually striking spiral, which spells out the letters 'M', 'O', 'N'. As well as the spiral there's also a simple bar that structures and frames content. The logo is expressed through various fun animations and touchpoints, including some very cool earrings.
The colour palette is build around three core colours representing sun, land and water and the typographic system is bilingual, in both Japanese and English.
The verbal identity was created by Pentagram's Brand Narrative team (headed by one of last year's Brand Impact Award judges, Ashley Johnson) and was designed to be welcoming and accessible. It again echoes the idea that culture is something to be participated in, not just observed.
Overall this is an inviting identity that stands out from other museums and definitely makes me want to visit. The verbal and visual identity recently won two D&AD Pencils.
The Brand Impact Awards 2026 are now open for entries! If you have a standout branding project from the last year that you think deserves recognition, you need to enter the BIAs. You have until July 9 to enter and can do so on the Brand Impact Awards website.
