MioBar Editorial Design

The main principle behind my design is to express the essence of the subject. I do not want to create a design that only decorates the surface or follows a temporary visual trend. I always try to understand what is truly important within the subject, and then give that essence a clear visual form.

For MioBar Editorial Design, the inspiration came from the passion of Mr. Miyanishi, the master of MioBar, and his vision to develop MioBar not simply as a bar or cafe, but as a Gran Caffe rooted in Hiroshima. I saw the renovation not as an ordinary renewal, but as a rebirth of the place.

Therefore, I designed the project as a way to express the culture, memory, and future of MioBar through typography, photography, and printed editorial materials. The custom typeface Rinata, the monochrome photo book LULTIMOGIORNO, and the folded leaflet all come from the same idea: to reveal the true character of MioBar and allow people to feel the depth behind the space.

This work was created in response to MioBar’s renovation into a Gran Caffe. My main focus was to make the passion and dedication of Mr. Miyanishi, the master of MioBar, immediately perceptible through the editorial design.

I wanted the leaflet to communicate the spirit of the place at first sight, not as a simple advertisement, but as an object that carries the culture and atmosphere of MioBar. Through typography, photography, paper, and composition, I aimed to let people feel the world of an Italian bar and Gran Caffe culture.

What I wanted to achieve was a design that could help guests understand that MioBar is not merely a renewed cafe, but a place with a strong cultural vision. I hoped that people who held the printed material would sense the care, elegance, and depth behind the space, and become interested in experiencing that culture for themselves.

Mr. Miyanishi, the master of MioBar, sees this renovation as the creation of a place that he will continue to cultivate throughout his life. He does not want the space to remain untouched or perfectly new forever. Instead, he hopes that the cafe will gain depth over time, including the marks, scratches, and aging that come from daily use and human presence.

My future plan for this award-winning design is to continue responding to that vision. MioBar Editorial Design was not created as a one-time promotional tool. It was created as a visual language that can grow together with the place.

The leaflet, the photo book LULTIMOGIORNO, and the typeface Rinata each record an important moment in MioBar’s transformation, but I believe they can also become a foundation for future expressions. As MioBar continues to mature as a Gran Caffe, I would like to create design work that reflects that aging, atmosphere, and ongoing cultural development.

I hope this design will continue to support MioBar not only as a record of its rebirth, but as part of its future growth.

I had known the master of MioBar, Mr. Miyanishi, long before the renovation began, and I had often heard his passionate vision for the place. He did not see MioBar simply as a bar or cafe, but as a Gran Caffe, a cultural space that could take root in Hiroshima and grow as part of the city’s culture.Because of this, I also felt that the renovation should not be treated as an ordinary renewal. I did not want to simply create a surface-level design for the new space. I wanted the design language itself, including the typeface, to be made with the same care and dedication that was being put into the interior.While the craftsmen were working on the renovation, I visited the site many times. During those visits, I began to notice the beauty of the curves embedded in the space. They were not just decorative lines; they expressed the character, intention, and future of the place. I thought that if those curves could be translated into typography, the letters themselves could carry the spirit of MioBar.That was how the idea for Rinata emerged. The name means “reborn” in Italian, and for me it represents the rebirth of MioBar as Gran Caffe. Rinata was not created only as a typeface, but as a way to connect the renewed physical space with the printed editorial design. It allowed the atmosphere of the renovated cafe to live inside the letters.

MioBar was renovated with a strong awareness of the true essence of historic Gran Caffe culture, such as the long-established cafes of Venice. The aim was not to imitate the appearance of such places, but to understand their deeper spirit: hospitality, conversation, atmosphere, continuity, and cultural presence.Inside MioBar, there are no digital displays, and there is no standardized, manual-like customer service often found in chain stores. The place is built through a very high level of communication between the owner, the staff, and the guests. The atmosphere is created through conversation, attention, memory, and personal exchange.For this reason, the leaflet was not designed as an ordinary advertisement. It was created as a printed object that could be handed to guests naturally within that refined communication, perhaps during a conversation or at the moment they leave the cafe. It carries the thoughts, values, and care of the place.The leaflet introduces details that may not be fully noticed during a single visit: the owner’s philosophy and achievements, the atmosphere of the interior, the carefully selected coffee beans, and the prosciutto served with a slicer by Berkel, one of the world’s finest makers of ham slicers. These elements are not presented as simple information, but as traces of the culture MioBar is trying to cultivate.I believe this is where print still has a deep role. A thoughtfully produced leaflet can remain in the hands and memory of the guest. It can quietly extend the experience of the cafe beyond the visit itself, and encourage the guest to return with a deeper understanding of the place. In MioBar Editorial Design, print functions not as promotion alone, but as a cultural bridge between the space, the people, and the local community.

I have always loved the grain of monochrome film. For me, a photograph is not only an image. When light is burned onto film, and when that image is later enlarged and printed on photographic paper, it becomes a physical object. It has a material presence that digital data cannot fully replace. I find that presence very beautiful.I usually carry a Leica camera with me when I walk through the city, and I had photographed MioBar many times before this project. I had also given prints to the owner, Mr. Miyanishi, in the past. Before the renovation, MioBar was already a wonderful Italian bar, deeply loved by many regular guests. It had its own atmosphere, history, and human warmth.When Mr. Miyanishi told me that he wanted to make a photo book of the final business day before the renovation, he specifically asked me to photograph it on film. I understood that request very naturally. Film is expensive, and the process takes much more time and effort than digital photography. However, the beauty, warmth, and quiet depth of film were essential for this subject.The final day of MioBar was not something I wanted to record quickly or efficiently. It was a day filled with memory, gratitude, and a sense of farewell. By photographing on monochrome film and developing it myself, I could stay close to that emotional atmosphere from beginning to end. The process gave the images a certain slowness and density.For LULTIMOGIORNO, the analog process was not a stylistic choice alone. It was a way to respect the time that had accumulated in the place and the feelings of the people who gathered there. Mr. Miyanishi and I shared the belief that film could carry this warmth more honestly. That shared sensibility became the foundation of the photo book.