Graphic Designers shining in their own world
Gold medal at the 2008 “Warsaw International Poster Biennale (Poland)” – Bronze medal at the 2008 “Chaumont International Poster and Graphic Arts Festival (France)” – Award of Merit at the 2008 “New York ADC Awards” (four recipients) – Gold medal at the 2007 “Taiwan International Poster Design Awards”…
How many people would know that all of these awards were given to a graphic designer in Sapporo City, Hokkaido prefecture of northern Japan? These impressive achievements are just a fraction of the many awards won by Sapporo artists. Sapporo is in the midst of a winning streak on the world stage of graphic design.
Where is this momentum coming from? What is happening with the graphic design scene in Sapporo?
To find some answers, the Sapporo Art Directors Club (Sapporo ADC) and the Sapporo Economic Affairs Bureau held a joint press conference at the Sapporo City Tokyo office.
(Coverage of the press conference is posted on the Sapporo ADC website)
http://www.sapporo-adc.com/news/index.html
7/23 Joint press conference held at Tokyo office of Sapporo City.
(From Left) Hiroshi Maeda and Yukio Hikichi (Sapporo ADC), Motoi Ichihashi (Sapporo Economic Affairs Bureau)
In a conference room full of International award-winning pieces, Hiroshi Maeda of the Sapporo ADC kicked off the press conference with an objective commentary as well as the importance of these Sapporo artists’ work.
Let us begin with the evaluation of Sapporo’s graphic design within the country.
According to the national competition “Graphic Design in Japan”, (hosted by JAGDA) a competition with selective entry standards, Hokkaido has the second highest number of submissions in Japan after Tokyo. They have also had the highest percentage of prize-winning art work submitted to the competition three years in a row. In 2007, 78.6% of artwork submitted by Hokkaido residents were accepted entry. A large difference compared to Tokyo, at 47.2%.
Prize-winners from International competitions.
In other arenas, Sapporo artists have been winning battles at international competitions. The New York ADC Awards pride themselves in receiving tens of thousands of submissions each year. In the spring 2008 competition there were 276 groups who were awarded entry. Of these 276, 36 were from Japan, the second largest amount out of all countries that submitted. Five art pieces were created by Sapporo artists. Also, in the International Poster and Graphic Arts Festival of Chaumont, held in France, Sapporo came in fifth for number of prize-winning artists, surpassing cities such as Berlin.
There are countless noteworthy competitions in which Sapporo graphic designers were recognized for their talent. Taking these into account, “Designs originating from Sapporo are recognized more internationally than in Japan, and the number of world-level graphic designers is such that, their numbers would be in the top 10 in the world.” (Maeda)
World-renowned Sapporo graphic design.
“I recently felt that Sapporo designers were really on fire. Now that these artists have been rewarded with concrete evidence – numbers of accepted submissions, prize-winning pieces, and percentages based on these numbers – the general public can also appreciate how special the graphic design scene is in Sapporo,” says Maeda, looking back.
Sapporo ADC – The creative engine that nurtures top-caliber artists
“It is natural for Tokyo, a corporate city with many large campaigns, to produce a plethora of art, but it is rare for such a city as Sapporo, one without these advantages, to produce so many artists and highly acclaimed art work.” Says Maeda. Most of the press were curious as well. “Why is Sapporo producing such high quality art work?” they would ask.
Yukio Hikichi of the Sapporo ADC, introducing that this is “one theory”, remarked that “The Sapporo ADC and the competitions it hosts every year have provided significant stimulation for creative minds, forming an environment suitable for world-class artists.”
Sapporo ADC began in April of 2001 with the idea that artists from all genres including graphic design, package design, video, and corporate identity/visual identity could come together to create art. Artists run this club with friendly competition amongst themselves, honing their skills and sparking each other’s creativity.
The main activity for Sapporo ADC is the annual gallery and awards ceremony and the publishing of the year’s catalogue. An exciting event each year is a gallery and competition dubbed “Sapporo Style Live Judging”, which is reputedly “hotter than a Tokyo summer”. The entire process of judging is disclosed to the public, giving a real-time view of the direction a decision. The event attracts several hundred people, including members and non-members.
“The participators become the core,” has been the motto and the energy source to gather people and artwork. The completely open judging process, in turn, has brought an element of excitement to the process.
This rapid-fire competition will be held this year on September 13th (Sat.) and 14th (Sun.) in Sapporo City.
Incorporating business into art
Sapporo ADC has helped motivate and push artists to improve their skills, creating internationally renowned graphic designers. This is a productive cycle, but also creates practical problems.
“The acceptance of awards doesn’t lead to business. Unlike the densely populated areas in Tokyo, there are few companies in Sapporo that are interested in using designers to assist in the conducting of business. Businesses in Sapporo aren’t aware of the abilities of these designers, either. There is a need to create connections between companies in large industries such as food and tourism, and designers. Much proactive change is needed.” Says Maeda.
The important first step in creating this relationship is raising awareness so that companies know these talented artists exist.
In March of 2006, Sapporo City announced “Sapporo Ideas City”, in which they stated that Sapporo would become a community in which artwork would be a part of the citizens’ daily lives. Creativity would be the core of the contents industry, spearheading creative business in a way that encourages competition between other industries. A new, “Creative City, Sapporo”.
Designers and Creators are a crucial element in creating this image. It is hoped that communities will find more uses for such talented artists.
Maeda ends his essay, “Internationally distinguished Sapporo graphic design” – an accumulation of data introduced at the press conference – with these words.
“The influence of local media on the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters(A pro-league baseball team in Japan) was not little. Now, they have become some of the best-known players in Japanese baseball. What about design? What’s needed most is for the local communities to cheer on their “Skilled Home Team (of designers)”. Using local advertising between citizens and small companies, how could the industry, education system, and governing systems encourage this...”
Internationally acclaimed designers working together with local industries to create quality products and services to send out to the rest of the world… We hope this becomes just one example in many more bright achievements to come.
Original Article by Eiichi Sato
Translation by David Neptune
