Shibuya 109 building unveils new winning logo design set to appear over scramble crossing in 2019

Owners say sayonara to their iconic red sign with a new logo that captures the spirit of all the youth fashion stores inside the building.

If you’ve ever done a 360-degree turn in the middle of Tokyo’s famous Shibuya Scramble Crossing, you would’ve seen some of the area’s most well-known buildings smiling down on you. There’s the Q-FRONT building, which houses the Starbucks at Tsutaya, the Tokyu Department Store at Shibuya Station, and in amongst it all there’s the 109 building, standing as a beacon of bright lights for young fashionistas around the country since 1979.

To celebrate their 40th year of business in 2019, the owners of the building have decided to revamp their image, announcing a new logo contest back in April to replace the iconic 109 sign that’s been sitting on their facade for decades. Now, after receiving 9,537 submissions, they’ve revealed all the winning designs from the competition, including the one that will act as the new face of their brand.

▼ Winning the “109 Prize”, selected by the secretariat, is this design, which netted its creator 100,009 yen (US$898.46) in 109 shopping vouchers.

▼ In the “Excellence Award” category there were three winners, who were each awarded 100,009 yen in prize money.

▼ And finally, the winning logo, which came with a 1.09 million yen prize for its creator.

The new logo, which was determined by an online vote out of the final four designs, features a cylinder resembling the unusual shape of the building. According to the contest organisers, the modern look of the new logo, along with its pink-based hues, captures the youthful spirit of their brand and the fashion stores inside their complex.

▼ The new logo was unveiled at a ceremony at the 109 building on 22 July.

With the old 109 sign being a mainstay of the Shibuya landscape for the past 39 years, it will be interesting to see how the public reacts when the new logo appears on the 109 building sometime in spring 2019.

After recently being deemed one of the most likely buildings to collapse in the event of a large-scale earthquake, here’s hoping they take a moment to look at their foundations as well as their facade in the near future too.

Source, images: @Press

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