Gengo-chan

I can't believe we've got this far as a company in Japan without having our own mascot! Something didn't quite feel right, and it was the fact we didn't have a kawaii character all of our own. 

But all that's changed, as we managed to find a brilliant illustrator called Dana Zimmerling to create a custom character - Gengo-chan! 

About the illustrator

Dana is the creator of the eclectic zine Damki - but she turns her hand to a wide range of projects - from magazine illustration to brand design to fans. Check out her portfolio here.

She worked with us (tirelessly :) to come up with something that would represent our dedication to getting the world talking, while fitting in with our existing brand. We're super happy with her work.

Dana also created a new set of icons for our three levels of translation (Standard, Pro and Ultra) which we'll be rolling out soon.

So without further ado, we introduce Gengo-chan. He'll be appearing on a bunch more stuff soon - but right now he's just here on the blog, chilling out.

More mascots

Japan is awash with little characters and mascots - you only have to walk down the street to see a couple of new ones every day if you look hard enough. For more info about mascots, check out the following:

Hello, Please is a book dedicated to all the different mascots created by Japanese companies and government agencies. It's a great little gift book for anyone into Japan.

More Japanese mascots at Danny Choo.

Tags: gengo-chan

Posted 3pm, Monday 14th September, 2009 by Robert Laing