■ CV #006 / VANTAN (Series 2/3) Campus Design

[Vantan Series Part 2 (Total 3 Parts)]

Space Tells the Brand Story — Vantan's New Campus Design

In this three-part series, I am talking about the brand renewal of “VANTAN”.

In my previous job, I was in an environment where I handled both graphic design and interior design. Leveraging that experience, this time I am
consistently designing the brand's worldview from both the “logo” and “space” perspectives.

Brand renewal does not end on paper.
The space itself embodies the brand's worldview.
At Vantan, starting with the Ebisu campus, we have revamped the school building design. This time, I will introduce the thoughts and mechanisms incorporated into it.

◾️ Spatial design for those who visit and those who do not

Along with the logo renewal, I proposed the school building design.

What I am particularly conscious of here is the perspective of “how it will be captured.” In the modern era, where media such as TV, magazines, the web, and social media are familiar, brands are very often defined not by the “actual object” but by “how they appear through photos.”

In fact, about 99% of people around the world cannot visit “that place.” In such a situation, the value of a brand can be judged by a single photo, or at most two or three photos. In terms of architecture, it can be assumed that
a photo of the exterior comes first, and photos imagining the interior and usage scenes come second or third. Among them, I design everything by calculating backward from the camera angle, such as where the logo sign will appear, how large it will be visible, and how catchy it will look as a photo.
I am proud that this approach, which consistently incorporates the PR perspective into the design—something different from those specializing in architecture and interior design—is unique within the industry.

◾️ Creative switch created by the red entrance

And, it is also important to have a story or concept that can be told.
Creating a space that turns on the “creative switch” was the theme this time.

Vantan has school buildings all over the country, including Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, and Fukuoka. Among them, the Ebisu campus is the symbol and base of Vantan.

So, I designed a “red entrance.” This is not just a design to stand out, but because it is a creative school, I wanted it to be a mechanism where
students switch to “creative mode” the moment they step into the school building.

The school entrance varies in size and shape depending on the location and spatial conditions. Even so, I aimed to design it so that the same “experience” can be obtained no matter which school building you visit.

By installing a red entrance, visitors can feel at a glance that “from here on is Vantan's space.” And as a hidden theme, I also included the wish that it would become such an excellent school that it would be recognized as the “Red Gate of Creativity.”

◾️ Toward a brand communication base open to the city

The Ebisu school building is located along the Yamanote Line. Therefore, the school building is clearly visible from the train.

“Then, let's make it a place that students can be proud of.”

Based on that idea, I applied a design that utilizes the logo to the school building, not just the red entrance. Furthermore, I installed photo spots that look great on social media. I created a mechanism where Vantan's presence naturally spreads as students take photos with this place as a “background” and post them on Instagram or TikTok.

◾️ The idea of turning a campus into a medium

Furthermore, the wall design of the school building has been elevated from the conventional concept of an 'exterior wall' to the idea of a 'media space'.

Typically, exterior walls in architecture serve as design elements that define the appearance of a building.
However, at Vantan, we made those exterior walls function as a 'gallery'-like space for displaying student work.
The wall surface, which featured the logo at the time of completion, now showcases rotating student projects, including graphic designs, illustrations, and photography.

By displaying excellent work, it serves as an internal branding tool that boosts student motivation by making them want to be featured there, while simultaneously giving passersby and visitors the impression that 'this is a school capable of producing such work,' thereby generating aspiration and anticipation for the industry.
In short, it is the concept of 'turning the school building itself into media.'

◾️ In conclusion

By renewing not just the logo, but the 'space' of the school building itself, the Vantan brand has evolved to be more three-dimensional and experiential.

Next time, I would like to talk about the process of how we expanded this brand image across a diverse range of schools and reconstructed it into a unified brand.

CREATIVE VIZION #006

> Click here for the previous article in the Vantan series ↓

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