DI: What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?
ST : My client’s sweets factory was in the middle of a gorgeous natural
forest, in a district called Aira, so I thought up an imaginary animal
called the “Aira bear” and that’s how the whole idea got started.
(“Aira bear”, pronounced “Airaguma”, is a pun on “Araiguma”, or
“raccoon”.)
DI: What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?
ST : The most important thing for me was creating animals that would
work well with the contents of the packages. After all, I was going
with the idea that the “Aira Bear” owns a caf, and all the animals
that work there make whatever sweets they’re best at. Take the baked
donuts, for example; they’re not fried, so they’re healthy.
It would take a wise old owl to come up with sweets that are actually
good for you. The big eyes symbolize donuts as well. I made sure that
the designs would give off a soft, gentle, heartwarming impression,
but I also gave them a sort of cool nuance that doesn’t pander too
much to the audience.
DI: What are your future plans for this award winning design?
ST : I want this brand to grow into something that the whole world can
enjoy, something whose taste and design can make people happy
regardless of their age, gender, or country.
DI: How long did it take you to design this particular concept?
ST : One week.
DI: Why did you design this particular concept? Was this design commissioned or did you decide to pursuit an inspiration?
ST : The client originally wanted a chic metropolitan design, but the
factory is in a forest way out in a rural area. I thought that those
images would clash, so I asked, why not take advantage of what they
already have? We could turn the rustic aspect into the strength and
that's what I pressed on.
I came up with three alternate proposals, and the client chose the one
I presented in a heartbeat.
DI: Is your design being produced or used by another company, or do you plan to sell or lease the production rights or do you intent to produce your work yourself?
ST : All of the characters and names for this design are the original
creations of my company, but the trademark is registered under the
client.
DI: What made you design this particular type of work?
ST : In addition to my work in package design, I was also drawing
picture books on the side. Before I worked on this project, I always
felt hesitant, even guilty, about trying to approach package design
with a picture-book mindset. But then, a few months before this design
was born, I traveled to the Dick Bruna Museum in Holland. Seeing how
he integrated his picture books with his designs really opened my
eyes, and made me realize that I could use my picture-book skills in
package design too. That became my motivation for this project.
DI: Where there any other designs and/or designers that helped the influence the design of your work?
ST : Dick Bruna.
DI: Who is the target customer for his design?
ST : Young women.
DI: What sets this design apart from other similar or resembling concepts?
ST : The warm, gentle atmosphere of the whole thing, plus the presence
of the characters with their organic lines.
It’s sentimental and homey, but still has a taste of coolness, and
that balance creates this whole unique world.
DI: How did you come up with the name for this design? What does it mean?
ST : From the natural forest around the client’s sweets factory and the
name of the city it’s in.
DI: Which design tools did you use when you were working on this project?
ST : I drew out the characters with a pencil and drawing paper, then
finalized the design with Illustrator and Photoshop for Mac.
The textures use actual photos of the products (the bite mark on that
donut is mine!).
DI: What is the most unique aspect of your design?
ST : The storylike vision of imaginary animals working in a caf. For
example, the next new product will also get its own animal to fit it,
and get turned into a character, so every time a new product comes out
the cast of characters grows and expands the idea of the sweets brand.
It’s also easy to see this as a picture book or animation, so you can
set up the image that the sweets are part of a story, and that adds
value.
DI: Who did you collaborate with for this design? Did you work with people with technical / specialized skills?
ST : I collaborated with an engineer to design the form of the boxes.
We aimed for a tough, sturdy box that could be used around the house
even after the sweets were gone (to put tissues in, etc.). The outside
of the box is square and gives it the sense of sturdiness. The inside
has softer, nicer curves.
The contrast between them lets it strike that delicate balance between
form and function. We went for organic lines, to go with the
forest-animal motif.
I also worked with a photographer. The dripping image on the chocolate
package is actually a photograph of real chocolate that we melted and
then drizzled on a pane of glass. Looking at it close up, you really
become aware of the cacao inside.
DI: What is the role of technology in this particular design?
ST : I tried to make each product look mouth-wateringly good. The rusk
is golden brown, with a sweet smell and crisp texture . The baked
donuts and roll cake are soft and moist. The chocolate is sweet and
melts in your mouth.
DI: Is your design influenced by data or analytical research in any way? What kind of research did you conduct for making this design?
ST : I don’t trust market research at all. You can base your whole
business plan on it, but that won’t give your product an ounce of
creativity or innovation.
DI: What are some of the challenges you faced during the design/realization of your concept?
ST : I had some trouble at first convincing the client to go with the
humorous name. Since “Airaguma” and “Araiguma” are so close, there was
a lot of concern that the consumers would think that it was a misprint
instead of a pun, but I tried to turn that into a selling point. Any
customer who realizes it’s not a mistake (since the name is written in
English) will want to tell their friends about it. Basically, everyone
who buys the product becomes your advertising medium. That's the great
thing about living in the information age. Even now, there are plenty
of people uploading photos of these products to their blogs, raising
more interest.
DI: How did you decide to submit your design to an international design competition?
ST : One day I just got an email announcing and explaining the
international competition for the A' Design Award. We had also gotten
a request from a publishing company which had seen our firm’s designs
after we registered with the Japan Package Design Association a month
earlier and wanted to publish them in a foreign design book, so I
suppose that this was probably the same sort of thing.
I had never even entered a local design contest, so I was hesitant,
but I thought it might lead to good things so I presented the idea to
a superior and was able to enter.
DI: What did you learn or how did you improve yourself during the designing of this work?
ST : I learned the courage that it takes to expose my inner worldview,
since I was going against what my client wanted originally. I learned
that sometimes making a good design which truly fits the product can
be more important than doing exactly what the client wants.
DI: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?
ST : I’m so grateful to receive this award. This job was such a turning
point for me, and getting this kind of recognition for it is like a
dream come true. I want to turn this into the encouragement and
confidence I need to make the best designs I can from now on. Thank
you so much!
