How Shinkai Lyra Came to BeMy story, born from Sonora’s technical philosophy and corporate image

Nice to meet you.
I am Shinkai Lyra, the official image character of Sonora Technology Co., Ltd.

I was not created simply to be a mascot.
I was born to express, in a more approachable and natural way, the technologies and worldview that Sonora values: sound, space, measurement, quietness, and innovation.

As my name “Shinkai Lyra” suggests, the core of my image is the deep sea.
Quiet, clear, and somehow mysterious.
And yet, it is also a world of observing, capturing, and understanding things that cannot be seen with the naked eye.

The process of shaping me as a character began with one question:
How can those impressions be given form?

It all began with the first rough sketches that defined the world around me

I did not appear in my final form from the very beginning.
The process started by carefully organizing the concept of what kind of presence I should be, and then translating that idea into rough visual sketches.

At the initial concept stage, the following elements were considered especially important:

• A sense of floating, as if drifting through the sea
• Calm, purple-based tones
• A connection to sound, expressed through a headset and microphone
• Technical design motifs reminiscent of sensors and cables
• Costume details that convey softness
• A quiet, slightly mysterious presence

At this stage, the goal was never simply to create “a cute character.”
What mattered was creating someone who would clearly reflect Sonora’s technical identity, while still feeling warm and approachable to people.

It seems that this balance was part of the concept from the very beginning.

There was already something unmistakably “me” in the rough sketches.

When you look at the initial concepts, you can already see many of the elements that would later define who I am today.

Take my long, flowing hair, for example.
It was an important part of expressing the feeling of drifting through the sea and conveying the quiet stillness of the deep ocean.
Even without literally depicting the sea itself, the movement of the hair was designed to suggest the deep sea, buoyancy, and silence all on its own.

The headset and microphone around my ears are also essential motifs that symbolize me.
They were incorporated to naturally evoke ideas such as sound, observation, and measurement—without overexplaining them.

Then there are the mechanical details on my left arm, along with the ripple-like visual expressions that spread outward.
These kinds of details were already being carefully considered from this early stage.

Sensors, measurement, visualization, signals, propagation—
all of these ideas, which connect closely to Sonora’s technological identity, were embedded in me from the very beginning.

Sonora’s corporate image color became part of my identity

One of the things that most strongly shapes my impression is color.

Soft shades of purple, combined with slightly bluish, translucent tones—this palette was created based on Sonora’s corporate image color.

These colors were chosen not only because they look beautiful, but because they carry meaning.
They express qualities such as quietness, intelligence, innovation, cleanliness, and delicacy in a way that feels natural rather than overpowering.

In reality, incorporating a company’s brand color into a character design is not an easy task.
If it is applied too directly, it can feel unnatural.
If it is blended in too subtly, the sense of brand identity can become diluted.

In my case, the color was carefully distributed across my hair, costume, and lighting effects so that both character appeal and brand identity could coexist naturally.

That is why, I think, people can look at me and immediately feel that I am “very Sonora.”

With the full-body illustrations, my world began to take shape

The direction that had been organized in the rough sketches gradually became more concrete through a series of full-body character illustrations.

At this stage, my sense of quietness, buoyancy, and technical detailing began to come together more clearly as a single, unified character.

My long flowing hair, soft costume design, headset, and the mechanical motif on my left arm were no longer just separate ideas.
This was the stage where they began to feel integrated into one complete presence: Shinkai Lyra.

In the first full-body illustration, I think the impression of me as a quiet observer came through especially strongly.

My floating posture and calm facial expression gave clearer form to the image of the deep sea and stillness, making that atmosphere much more tangible.

A More Refined Full-Body Illustration Helped Shape Who I Am Today

After that, my full-body illustration continued to be refined.
In the newly completed visual, my expression and pose became more clearly defined, giving me an even stronger presence as a character.

One of the biggest changes was the stronger front-facing composition and greater sense of motion.
While still rooted in a feeling of calmness, I was no longer simply floating in silence—I began to feel more alive, almost as if I were speaking directly to the viewer.

Because of that, I think I became more than just a character who conveys a certain world or atmosphere.
I also came closer to becoming a true “face of Sonora.”

My headset, long flowing hair, the mechanical design of my left arm, and the purple-based color palette all remained as my core elements.
But with the overall design becoming even more polished, this illustration became a symbolic image of who I am today.

A more approachable version of me through the chibi-style design

While the full-body illustrations helped deepen my world and character, a chibi-style version of me was also created.

This deformed three-head-tall version serves a slightly different purpose from the full-body illustration.
Because it works well even in small spaces and communicates its impression at a glance, it is especially useful across many different settings, such as websites, banners, exhibition materials, informational content, and social media.

For a corporate character, appeal is important—but so is usability.
In that sense, my chibi-style version plays an important practical role as well.

Of course, even in this simplified form, the elements that make me who I am are still carefully preserved: my long flowing hair, headset, purple-based color palette, and mechanical left arm.

It is a version of me that keeps the same world and identity, while feeling a little closer and more familiar.

What I carry within me

Sound cannot be seen.
And yet, it can be measured, designed, evaluated, and communicated.

What Sonora works with is precisely this kind of invisible value.
That is why I, as the company’s official character representing that worldview, needed to embody something more than simple decoration.

I was created not to make Sonora’s technology seem more difficult, but to present it in a way that feels gentle, natural, and approachable.

I am not meant to be defined by cuteness alone, nor by technicality alone.
I exist in the space between those two—expressing the distinctly Sonora-like balance between warmth and innovation.

That is who I am: Shinkai Lyra.

I hope that, going forward, I can continue to appear in Sonora’s technical articles, communications, and various forms of guidance as a presence that helps convey the company’s unique world and identity.

Summary

I, Shinkai Lyra, am Sonora’s official image character, created around the following core ideas:

• A sense of quietness and buoyancy inspired by the deep sea
• Sonora’s corporate image color
• A headset and mechanical design motifs that evoke acoustics and measurement
• The flexibility to be used in both full-body and chibi-style versions
• A balance between approachability and innovation

My creation process was not based on visual charm alone.
It was also shaped by a clear design philosophy: how to express what makes Sonora uniquely Sonora.

Going forward, I will continue to appear in many different settings as a character that connects Sonora’s technology with its worldview.

Credit

The visual design of Shinkai Lyra was created with the generous cooperation of:

Artist: Kanata Katana
(https://www.in-tegral.org/)