Mirai Rail
AfroFuturism meets Japanese innovation
Founded in 2020 by Pulane Tshabalala Kingston, Mirai Rail is a company with the purpose of bringing meaningful rail solutions to Africa, based on the resilient infrastructure approach of Japan.
The brief
Breinstorm Brand Architects was tasked with creating a corporate identity and various digital platforms to bring Mirai Rail’s Pan-African and AfroFuturistic narrative to life.
The transformation
An identity embedded in African and Japanese influences
Utilising our design team’s varied disciplines, we created a corporate identity that seamlessly brought together the concepts of Pan-African AfroFuturism and Japanese innovation – “mirai” is both a Japanese word for “innovation” and a Shona word for “stand-up”.
Visually articulating the trains
The letters M and R were used together, creating a logo representative of the trains at the centre of the business. The website design was carefully considered to inspire a sense of excitement around the rail sector, with beautiful illustrations and distinctly African visual elements.
Tailored icons for tailored solutions
As Mirai Rail is structured into three business divisions, we provided icon designs to visually present these three tailored rail solutions.
The showcase of cleverness
An identity to encompass future-forward thinking and a drive for sustainable development and innovation.
The validation of purpose
Boasting this new corporate identity, Mirai Rail is growing rapidly, even in unstable times.
“Mirai is now the largest supplier of rails, the largest manufacturer of turnouts and operates the only rail welding facility in SADC. Thank you for walking this journey with me.”
- Pulane Kingston, Mirai Rail