We are a brand and design consultancy based in Tokyo. We, along with our friends, want to use our skills to make the world a better place – and inspire people around us to do the same.

Service

BRANDING
Brand consultancy
Brand strategy
Brand identity

DESIGN
Identity
Prints
Editorial
Digital
Package
Wayfinding
Typeface

ART DIRECTION
Advertising
Film
Photography
Illustration
Contents creation

WEBSITE
Planning
UI, UX
E-commerce

Founder
Ryuhei Nakadai
Creative Director / Art Director / Designer

profile

illustration by Morten Kantsø

Ryuhei Nakadai is founder of RIVER, a brand and design consultancy based in Tokyo and formerly, co-founder of Anyhow, a creative agency in London. An international perspective lies at the heart of Nakadai’s work. He has more than 20 years of experience as a creative director, art director and designer, focusing on branding, identity, web, editorial, print and packaging design. Clients span a wide creative spectrum, including Apple, Starbucks, FC Tokyo and Uniqlo among many others.
River consistently delivers creative projects that span a spectrum of forms, tapping into interdisciplinary experiences in both Japan and the UK, including design theory and commercial design, advertising and branding, as well as print and digital media.
Nakadai’s work has received numerous awards, including the Japan Graphic Design Association Award in 2018. A book designed for the artist Damien Hirst also won the British Book Design & Production Awards. Another book created for the musician Brian Eno was selected for AIGA’s 50 Books | 50 Covers and is now housed in Columbia University’s collection. The digital archive he created for the Hayward Gallery is also part of collections at AAA Hong Kong, the University of Nottingham, and DSL Paris.
Part-time lecturer at Joshibi University of Art and Design