Farewell to the King; the End of an Era: Tokyu Hands Becomes 'Hands'
On October 26th, 2022, Japan’s best DIY department store, Tokyu Hands unveiled a completely fresh, minimal rebranding to the public.
A brand new logo, and a new name, 'Hands' after the company was acquired by the home improvement giant Cainz corporation in March 2022, distancing itself from the Tokyu corporation.
Since its establishment in 1976, the distinctive logo of Sabukaru's favourite 'Creative Life Store' consisting of two hands pointing in opposite directions has dominated the creative/hobbyist consumer landscape for decades. Designed by Yasuhiro Hamano, Tokyu Hand's brand lifestyle producer, who wanted to strongly convey the company's ethos of "creating lifestyles with one's own hands." which further scratches the itch of the hobbyist in all of us, for all useful, functional, practical and sometimes downright random needs. For anyone coming to Japan from overseas, the first stop for any OG over any hyped boutique would be Tokyu Hands. If you know, you know. Simple.
The Tokyo/Milan-based agency nendo was given the task of the rebrand, by retaining the brand's trademark green color to maintain its values and familiarity. The logo is based off of the kanji character for 'hand' [手] and takes the form of a single-stroke calligraphy that intends to evoke hope and connection between the past and the future.
The Sabukaru team is no stranger to the idea that rejuvenations are nothing unusual or surprising in the consumer world, yet, something about such a stable, consistent, familiar and comforting logo that remained the same across skylines for generations, reminding us to never take anything for granted, as you never know what could happen down the line.
For those hoping to still retain some sentimental value in its old logo, fear not, as the company had also announced that the new logo will be used sequentially. In total, it will take until the end of March 2024 to completely replace the signboards in all 88 stores across Japan and overseas.
