Budo 武道 - brand development

Budo is a UK based online community, selling fight wear and different martial art equipment. After failing to achieve a desirable result with the local designers, M. reached out to me for help. Here's what we came up with.

During the design process I played around with these 4 main elements:

If you visit a Japanese temple, inside you can stumble upon a round window "The Window of Enlightenment" and a square one "The Window of Ignorance", its sharp edges are like the impurities of the mind, whereas the round one represents a perfect state of mind - Nirvana. Cracked Ice pattern - a design element usually used on windows in Asian architecture. The technique takes incredible amount of skill to master. I love the simplicity and minimalistic look of Japanese Family Crests. We decided that Budo can stand for something more than just a shop, it's a community of martial artists, sharing their experiences and helping each other.

Cracked Ice pattern on a window at Lion Grove Garden, Suzhou.

Color inspiration came from this photo (I believe it was taken by Mary Harrsch). This stunning Sashiko was made back in 1780 during the Edo Period.

Budo T-shirts.

Budo logo on Noren - a traditional Japanese fabric divider. (Based on a photo by U3K-Y)