[ ABOUT ME ]
Designer · Tokyo / Remote · Since 2018
Hello,
I'm Akira.
A quietly obsessive independent designer working on brand systems, editorial and product surfaces for founders and small studios. I treat constraints as a feature, not a bug — and I ship.
[ ABOUT ME ]
Tokyo, Japan
JST · Working anywhere ±9h
[ Status ]
Booking Q3 — Q4 2026
2 slots remain · reply < 24h
[ ABOUT ME ]
EN · JP · ES
Fluent · conversational · ok
[ 01 / 06 ]
Background
A studio of one. Eight Years Deep
© Studio Lequon
The short version
Designer of quiet systems for loud ambitions.
I help founders, studios and editorial teams put their work into the world without losing the part that made it interesting in the first place. The medium changes — websites, identities, products, books — but the practice doesn't.
Before going independent, I cut my teeth at two studios in Osaka and one in Berlin, working on identity systems for cultural institutions and tech companies you'd recognize. I learned how to disagree with art directors politely, how to read a brief twice, and how to ship things that work after the photoshoot.
I'm a slow correspondent and a fast collaborator. I don't believe in revisions for their own sake. I do believe in long calls, short decks, and the idea that taste is a muscle.
A. Mori
Akira Mori
Designer · Founder
[ 01 / Output ]
082.
Projects shipped across brand, editorial and product since 2018
[ 02 / Recognition ]
14×
Awards & mentions — Brand New, Awwwards, Type Directors Club
[ 03 / Tenure ]
08yr
Years independent · two prior studios in Osaka & Berlin
[ 04 / Coverage ]
17+
Countries · clients across three
continents and four timezones
[ 02 / 06 ]
Principles
Four beliefs the studio runs on.
01
The brief is the first deliverable
If you can't write the problem in one paragraph, the design will say something different to every viewer. We pin it down before we move pixels.
Discipline
02
One idea per surface.
A page that tries to say six things says one — badly. We pick the highest-leverage idea, give it room to breathe, and cut the rest with no nostalgia.
Discipline
03
Systems over screens.
I'd rather hand off three tokens and a grid that scales than ten finished mocks that fall apart on the second iteration. Templates beat one-offs.
Discipline
04
The work is plain.
No fake textures, no AI gloss, no decorative motion. If a thing isn't pulling weight, it's not earning its place in the file.
Discipline
[ 03 / 06 ]
Journey
Eight years, six chapters.
2026
Studio of one, Year eight
Lequon · Tokyo / remote
Independent practice
Identity work for two product founders and a Tokyo coffee roaster. Slowing down on volume, sharpening on type.
2024
First book published
A. Mori · "Quiet Systems"
Editorial · 168pp
A monograph on small-studio brand systems, printed in Antwerp. Sold out the first run in 4 weeks.
2022
Brand New nomination
Novaire Co. rebrand
Novaire Co. rebrand
Identity system for a Pacific-Northwest outfitter; nominated alongside studios 20× the size. Lost gracefully.
2020
Moved practice to Tokyo
Setagaya-ku · still here
Relocation
Pandemic-era move from Berlin to Tokyo. Picked up two long-term clients in the same month — got lucky and stayed.
2018
Went independent
Lequon founded
New chapter
Left agency life with one client, three months of runway and the right kind of stubbornness. Eight years later, still here.
2016
Senior designer · Vale&Form
Berlin · Cultural & tech
Agency life
Identity work for museums, festivals and a couple of fintechs. Learned the difference between a system and a logo.
[ 04 / 07 ] Disciplines
How time gets split.
A focused practice — most of the calendar lives in two or three disciplines, with the rest serving as connective tissue. These percentages shift each year; this is FY2026.
FY 2026 estimate
42%
Brand identity
Logo, type, color, voice. Delivered as guidelines + working assets your team can run with.
Avg engagement
28%
Web & product
Marketing sites and product surfaces — designed in browser, shipped in your stack or handed off in Figma.
Avg engagement
18%
Editorial
Books, magazines, longform digital. The work that keeps the eye honest.
Avg engagement
12%
Type & art direction
Custom display typefaces, photography direction, motion supervision. Often inside a larger engagement.
Avg engagement
[ 05 / 06 ]
Toolkit
The kit — software, hardware, ritual.
Figma
-01
design
Tier S · daily
Framer
-02
Build
Tier S · daily
Glyphs 3
-03
Type
Tier A · Weekly
InDesign
-04
Tier A · Weekly
Capture One
-05
Image
Tier A · Weekly
iA Writer
-06
Notes
Tier S · Daily
Linear
-07
Plan
Tier A · Daily
Loom
-08
Talk
Tier B · Weekly
Leica Q3
-09
Field
Tier A · Weekly
MBP 16″ M4
-10
Desk
Tier s · Daily
Reeder
-11
Read
Tier B · Daily
V60 · Onibus
-12
Coffee
Tier S · Ritual
[ 06 / 06 ]
Recognition
Press, talks, mentions.
'26
Sidebar.io · Featured
LEQUON v1.0 release a brutalist portfolio
Site of the day · May 24
'26
Talk · OFFF Tokyo
"Quiet systems for loud ambitions"
40min · Main stage · April
'25
Awords · SOTD
Vale&Form. brand site
Site of the Day · Sept
'25
It's Nice That · Interview
"Designers who say no well"
Long-form profile · July
'24
Print · Quiet Systems
First monograph — sold out run
Antwerp · 168pp · 600 copies
'24
Brand New · Notable
Nørdic/01 identity system
Notable mention · March
'23
Podcast · The Honest Designer
"On working alone, on purpose"
Ep. 087 · 62 min · November
'22
TDC · Type Directors Club
Cert. of Typographic Excellence
Northwind Co. type system
Now / 05.24.26
What I'm doing this month.
An always-current snapshot of what's on the desk. Closer to a journal than a portfolio — updated whenever it stops being true. Inspired by Derek Sivers.
Last updated
[ Building ]
A new brand system for a fintech moving from plain to memorable
Q2 2026
[ Writing ]
Second book — "On Restraint", ~32k words drafted
Ongoing
[ Designing ]
Identity refresh for a Tokyo coffee roaster
Wk 22
[ Reading ]
Karl Gerstner — Designing Programmes (re-read, 3rd time)
Nightly
[ Not doing ]
Speculative pitches · contests · unpaid consulting calls
Forever
Now you Know me.
[ What's next ]
Two project slots remaining for Q3. Average reply within 24 hours.
Studio hours: 09–17 JST