Inside SODAA’s identity for the brand of a doctor-turned-designer

The Brand Identity: Front Office is the clothing label of Ken Sakata, a doctor-turned-fashion documentarian who built a cult following by making meticulously researched videos on sartorial culture. The label is an extension of that content: garments that combine workwear, military aesthetics and tailoring, researched over decades and recontextualised for the present. Three years in, after collaborations with C.P. Company, The Woolmark Company and Mammut, Front Office needed a brand identity to match its growth.

For that, Sakata turned to Melbourne-based design practice Studio of Design and Art (SODAA). Across Sakata’s body of work, the studio found a practice that lives between things. Doctor and designer, Western aesthetics and Japanese sensibilities, research and development, tradition and technology. Rather than resolving these dualities, SODAA decided to build an identity that lies in the space between them. An early reference shaped that thinking: a video of Sakata discussing Donald Keene’s philosophy of Japanese aesthetics, its principles of suggestion, irregularity, simplicity and perishability.

“They resonated strongly with Ken’s approach and became a valuable lens through which we developed the identity,” the studio explains. “Informing both the conceptual direction and the visual expression of the brand.” That sense of in-between-ness found its sharpest expression in the Japanese concept of ‘ma,’ which describes the appreciation of negative space and the meaning that emerges through absence. SODAA embedded it directly into the wordmark by incorporating a deliberate gap between the two words, rendered as a pause you can see. The idea travels beyond just the logo, expanding into dynamic lock-ups across the system.

For the lettering itself, the studio looked for something timeless, something you might find on the door of an old library or institution, looking closely at Japanese ‘mincho’ typefaces for their elegance and contrast. They landed on Dinamo’s ABC Arizona Flare, a serif that sits between a mincho and a gothic. “It captured that quality, balancing a feeling of heritage and permanence with warmth and character,” SODAA clarifies. To provide contrasting utility, Reform Grotesk by Forgotten Shapes is used in support, from printed matter down to the smallest care labels – chosen as much for the foundry’s philosophy as its function.

Forgotten Shapes revives historical typefaces through the principle of Werktreue, preserving and interpreting original works as faithfully as possible. “This felt closely aligned with Ken’s practice, which often draws from archival research, historical references, and the careful reinterpretation of existing garments,” the studio notes. The layout system is designed like a working archive. During research, SODAA dug into Japanese print culture, from book covers and magazines to the obi strips wrapped around records and publications.

“What stood out was the interplay between rigour and expression: highly structured layouts punctuated by unexpected shifts in scale, placement or typographic emphasis,” the studio tells us. “These subtle idiosyncrasies gave the work a distinctive sense of character and humanity.” The colour palette was pulled from the materials seen in Sakata’s research, such as manila folders, aged paper stocks, workwear khakis and indigo denim. It sits close to the midpoint between light and dark, avoiding extremes so it can carry the ambiguity that runs through everything else.

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The article discusses a unique approach to brand identity that integrates cultural dualities and design principles, making it significant and relevant for brand strategy professionals while also presenting a fresh perspective on identity design.