Designing Brands Through the Lens of Culture
When developing a brand for a product or service, many companies instinctively start the process with their Mission, Vision, Values, or Purpose. While these are undeniably important, there is a fundamental question that must be answered first: what culture does your brand fit into in today’s market? Accurately understanding your cultural position is the first step in building a meaningful brand strategy.
While a vision statement can serve as a compass, a compass is useless if you don’t know where you’re currently standing. No matter how compelling your purpose is, if it doesn’t align with the cultural context of your market, your words will ring hollow. Defining who you are must come after understanding where you stand. That sequence is what determines the foundation of a brand.
In this article, Yoichiro Tamada, founder of YL Projects, a creative studio bridging the Japanese and global markets, shares his perspective on why culture-based thinking is essential to effective brand strategy.
Written by Ichiro Yasui
Translated by Katherine Fitzpatrick
Why Culture Matters in Branding
— Why do you place so much emphasis on culture in brand strategy?
Before jumping into creating an ideal brand vision, you need to understand the arena you’re competing in. If you ignore the cultural context your brand belongs to and head straight for the mainstream market, you risk losing sight of your core strengths and wasting valuable resources.
A useful reference for understanding cultural positioning comes from an article by Ju Sho, a writer specializing in art and culture. As seen in the following graphic, he classifies contemporary culture into four distinct categories:
- Main Culture (Mainstream Culture): Culture that is widely accepted and supported across society, including hit music, popular products, and broadly adopted services.
- High Culture: Culture recognized for its sophistication and high level of achievement by knowledgeable audiences and affluent communities, often rooted in education, refinement, and taste.
- Sub Culture: A relatively niche culture supported by passionate minority audiences, existing in contrast to mainstream culture.
- Counter Culture: A culture defined by a rebellious spirit that challenges and opposes dominant social values and conventions.
These categories are a practical framework designed to take the guesswork out of the process and answer the questions, “where does your brand compete” and “where it should go next.” Instead of deciding which culture is “correct,” the key is to develop a clear awareness of the cultural trajectory your brand is on and where you intend to take it.
Culture Is Not Fixed: The Concept of Cultural Migration
— Can you give some concrete examples?
Culture shifts with the passage of time. Artists like Yonezu Kenshi and Ado are prime examples of cultural migration: both built their early audiences on Niconico Douga, a video platform that was itself deeply rooted in subculture. As their fan bases grew exponentially, that energy catapulted them into the mainstream. Kabuki, on the other hand, followed the opposite path. Once a form of mass entertainment in the Edo period, it has gradually transitioned into high culture, becoming something people engage with as an expression of refined taste and cultural literacy.
The same patterns play out in the world of brands. And ultimately, you can either let cultural migration happen to you, or it can be designed by you. Intentional cultural positioning, knowing where you’re starting and mapping out where you want to go, is the first and most essential act of brand strategy. Think of your cultural position as a GPS: it tells you where you are, and it helps you chart the route to where you want to be.
The route is not always simple either. Recently, due to the influence of social media, the speed and frequency with which subcultures move into the mainstream have increased, and we can also observe a cycle in which they are consumed and eventually return to subculture.
Case Study 1: Sushi Maru, Indonesian Sushi Restaurant in Jakarta
— How have you applied this thinking in actual projects?
A clear example of this would be our rebranding work for Sushi Maru, an Indonesian sushi restaurant brand.
To start, the perception of sushi is very different in Indonesia from that in Japan. Because fresh fish is difficult to adequately source and transport locally, sashimi (raw fish served as-is) is seen as a luxury product requiring both skill to prepare and a trustworthy supply chain. Typical, widely available sushi, on the other hand, is largely made with mayonnaise-based sauces and in a “fusion style” to compensate for lower-grade fish. Indonesians see sushi as “easy-to-eat popular food” and sashimi as “luxury cuisine,” the reverse of how it is widely perceived in Japan.
— How did that shape the strategy?
The key insight was identifying Sushi Maru’s most powerful asset: their parent company’s logistics network, which allows them to air-freight fresh fish directly from Japan. This wasn’t something a competitor could replicate overnight. While every other company in the Indonesian sushi market was asking, “How do we make local ingredients look like sushi?” Sushi Maru could focus on an entirely different question: “How do we deliver real, fresh fish straight from Japan?”
Our strategic proposal was to position Sushi Maru as a brand that operates at the scale of mass culture, but through the lens of high culture. A ship motif representing the fish directly shipped from Japan was incorporated into the logo to embody the brand’s dedication to premium quality. A refined and elevated design approach that matched the logo was also carried through the interiors, service, menu, and staff experience. By centering everything around delivering an authentic Japanese sushi experience, Sushi Maru successfully redefined what “good sushi” means in Indonesia.
By accurately understanding and redefining its cultural position, Sushi Maru created a consistent narrative across pricing, customer experience, and communication strategy, allowing it to deliver a brand experience that surpassed the existing range of premium sushi restaurants. Changing this cultural context went beyond a cosmetic change and transformed the brand’s entire approach to competing in the market.
The Smart Entry Point for Resource-Constrained Brands
— What’s the most reliable strategy for startups and smaller brands with limited budgets?
Launching directly into the mass market requires enormous capital, making it extremely difficult for companies that are not large corporations or backed by venture capital funds. Advertising, building distribution infrastructure, and sustaining price competitiveness ultimately become a battle of financial strength.
The more reliable path for smaller brands is to enter through high culture first, then migrate toward the mainstream. In high culture, brands first establish a reputation for authenticity and quality before making moves into the wider mass market. This flow is a highly effective strategy that allows brands to grow their market while simultaneously building both exclusivity and trust.
Tesla is the most instructive example. When the company launched, instead of introducing an affordable electric vehicle for the masses, they introduced the Roadster, a high-performance sports car priced at approximately $98,000. The goal was to demolish the prevailing assumption that electric cars were slow, impractical, and uncool. By winning over wealthy early adopters and cultural tastemakers, Tesla built an aura of desirability that preceded its mainstream expansion. Only after trust and recognition in the brand was firmly established did they introduce the Model S, and later the Model 3, at increasingly accessible price points.
It is important to note that Tesla was aiming to create “electric vehicles for the masses” from the very beginning. Yet to achieve that goal, the company deliberately entered through high culture first. The destination was mainstream culture, but the route went through high culture. This seemingly paradoxical strategy was what allowed the brand to scale while preserving its strength and desirability.
Case Study 2: Annie’s Pantry, Entering the Japanese Market
— What does this look like for a brand starting from subculture?
Our packaging work for Annie’s Pantry, a raw pet food brand entering the Japanese market, offers an example.
Raw pet food occupies a clear subcultural position in Japan, where dry kibble dominates the market. The category is unfamiliar to most pet owners, and its higher price point limits its accessibility. Choosing to feed your pet a raw diet is still perceived as a niche, knowledge-intensive decision for enthusiasts, not the general public. This meant the initial target audience was narrow and specific: highly engaged, quality-conscious pet owners.
— How did that shape the design approach?
We proposed a three-stage cultural migration: Subculture → High Culture → Mass Culture. Rather than trying to appeal to everyone from day one, the strategy was to go deep with the passionate minority first, earn their trust and endorsement, and use that cultural credibility as a springboard to wider audiences.
The design challenge was to create something that felt elevated and appropriate for a high-culture positioning, without closing the door on future mass-market accessibility. Our solution was to center the packaging around original illustrations and character-based visuals, drawing on Japan’s deeply rooted affinity for character culture. This gave the brand warmth and approachability without sacrificing quality perception, lowering the psychological barrier for consumers who might otherwise find raw feeding intimidating.
Illustrations and characters also work naturally across merchandise such as tote bags and lifestyle goods, allowing the brand to expand its touchpoints beyond the act of purchase itself. By first earning strong support and high-cultural recognition from passionate niche audiences, the brand established a foundation for sustainable growth that could later spread into the mainstream. This long-term scalability was built into the brand from its earliest stages.
The design was created not only for the present, but with a future expansion into mainstream culture already in mind. This approach to brand building with a long-term perspective was one of the most important aspects of the Annie’s Pantry case study.
Cultural Positioning Is an Ongoing Practice
There is one more important point worth emphasizing: defining a brand’s cultural position is not a one-time exercise.
Markets continue to evolve, competitors catch up, and consumer sensibilities shift over time. When Sushi Maru established its position of bringing a high-cultural experience into the mainstream mass market, it also took on the ongoing responsibility of maintaining that definition through everyday decision-making. Every detail matters, from the logo and interior lighting to the language used on the menu. Each element must continue to align with the brand’s cultural context.
The same applies to Annie’s Pantry. As the raw food market matures and the brand begins considering a future move into mainstream culture, its communication strategy will also need to evolve. The tone may shift from the sense of insider expertise that resonates with passionate niche audiences toward a broader sense of trust and accessibility. Executing that transition at the right time and in the right way is also part of brand design.
A brand is not something that is created once. It is something that must be continually developed over time. For that reason, a brand’s cultural definition must become embedded within the organization itself, serving as a guiding principle behind every decision it makes.
Don’t Mistake Your Starting Point
Great brands don’t emerge from inspiration alone. They require an accurate understanding of who they are and where they stand. Before asking “Where do we want to go?” it is necessary to first ask, “Where are we now?” That is the true starting point.
As you develop your brand, consider the following three questions:
- Which culture does our brand currently belong to?
- Which culture do we want to migrate toward?
- What is the most realistic path to get there?
Clearly defining a brand’s cultural position and building strategy from that foundation is at the core of effective brand design. If the starting point is misunderstood, even the strongest creative work will be consumed outside of its intended context. On the other hand, when a brand’s position is clearly defined, it can connect deeply with its audience and build the momentum needed to scale over time.
Let’s Talk
At YL Projects, we support brands through every stage of development, from defining their cultural position to logo and visual identity design, communication strategy, web development, and content creation, all within a consistent strategic context. Drawing on our understanding of both Japanese and global markets, we work with brands to define not only how they operate, but also the cultural space in which they should compete.
If this article has led you to ask, “Which cultural space does our brand currently belong to?” or if any of the case studies had an impact, we would be happy to hear from you.
We offer help in organizing and better understanding your current position, no matter what the size of the project.
Get in touch → ylprojects.com/contact
Y&L Projects
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