Akiko Kanna

I feel like I aways wanted to be an artist but didn’t know exactly which area of art i was most passionate about. I started playing piano when I was 5 and so I did have an idea of being a pianist since an early age but I guess I didn’t have enough passion to continue. After that, I started studying fine arts drawing and then with this skill I came across to becoming a Graphic Designer while in college in London. I remember I was really excited and open-minded because I could get access to most subject areas through design.

StudioKanna is a graphic design studio specialized incorporate identity and print design. I graduated with a B.A. in Graphic Designfrom Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design.I worked as editorial designerat British style magazine Dazed and Confused, then joineddesign studio North,famous for corporate identity work. Since setting up my own studio, my approachis based on finding simple but meaningfulsolutions for communication needs. I am also interested in pursuing self-initiated projects,collaborating with others, organizing exhibitions,and pursuing design solutions forregional developmentwith local communities.

My idea of design is how to most effectively communicate with people.

I enjoy Corporate Identity works most, because I can think about design in a wider vision.

I really appreciate the work from two schools, Bauhaus and HFG of Ulm. These classic legendary schools always remind me the principles of design and what beauty of design should be, combining simplicity and better functionality at the same time.

I started with a Corporate identity project for a friend of mine’s company.

I like mixing and matching different interesting materials, environments and technology.

I am really excited at the beginning of a work, I try to explore as many opportunities as possible.

I always get lots of confidence and that makes me feel really good.

“Simple communication” comes first for me, because in my opinion good design doesn’t need to tell too much.

I feel like a designer contributes to society mostly by making communication easier thus improving the way people understand each other.

I think design will focus more on originality and on the contributions of the individual rather the improvements by technology or software.

My last exhibition was the charity event “1-2-3” in London. Hopefully I can collaborate with Italian designers in Italy in the future.

My style of design always aims to express "simple but meaningful solutions for your communication needs" and I try to convey the idea without many descriptions.

I am living in Italy now. Before that, I have lived in London and Tokyo for a very long time. I learned many design directions and styles through cultural differences. Every experience contributed to my style and creativity, adding depth to my originality.

I always try to be as professional as pebble, trying to understand the company’s mission, identity and needs before starting a design plan.

For a big company - find a designer that can build a solid concept.For a small company - find a designer that has more character and enjoys originality.

Every project is different, but I guess I try to find a good concept looking from different angles and aspects.

(1) Original 1972 Munich Olympics A0 Swimming Poster(2) Eames Plastic Side Chair(3) Uten.Silo(4) Elephant stool by Sori Yanagi(5) Eames Hang-It-All

Ideally, morning coffee - make a plan for a day - start work - have lunch - start work - finish early.

I suggest to try working with people or studios that share a similar style of yours and learn how they deal doing business with clients. It is very valuable if you wish to have your own studio in the future.

Positive - I never get bored as every work is different from the previous one.Negative - You always tend to have critic eye on design whenever you go and whatever you see.

Problem solving is really important, also adding character and personality to the design in a balanced manner as required by the client.

My go-to tools are Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, and some others. And of course my collection of design books.

I try not to be carried away with continuously doing the almost same thing. Which means if I find myself in a creativity loop I try I have a break and approach the problem from a different angle, increasing my productivity.

It depends on the project, but usually in 1-2 weeks I can find the direction I would like to pursue. After that it really depends on the client so I can’t really say.

I get asked a lot, how do I feel about cultural differences and how these experiences effect my design style.

I guess my works for big companies, such as Coca-Cola Japan or Dunlop.

I had the pleasure of doing business with Coca Cola Japan, DUNLOP, Toyota Motor Europe, Panasonic Mobile Communications Co., Ltd, Saga Prefectural Government.Some more recent clients are UNIVERSAL MUSIC LLC, UDS Ltd., Phaidon Press Limited, Sony’s Fashion Entertainments.

I guess I like a design work which encompasses different media, not just on a 2d computer screen, for example environmental graphic which somehow interacts and connects with and to people in a tangible and sometimes unexpected way.

I mostly work by myself, but sometimes I can work as team specifically for a project.

I have some works-in-progress but I guess you’ll have to see the finished product when it’s ready.

Over the past fifteen years, I've been establishing my design perspective by studying what I am interested into and how much my idea can adapt to different ideas of people who are interested in my design. My journey of different city lifestyles and cultures has helped me to understand how people enjoy "design" in different ways and how to achieve their goals, which differs from city to city and from client to client. I believe the most important thing for a graphic designer is to give the answer to each client with fresh concepts but there have to be appropriate solutions for their needs. Conveying the information with a clear visual message is the key for what we do, alongside figuring out what is the most important message avoiding confusion due to different cultural values. My approach is always based on finding simple but meaningful solutions for communication needs. That is because I believe I am established internationally thanks to my design perspective which values diversity such as I have experienced. I am also open to communicate with clients which helps my design to be unique. Design world has so much potential but it is also very wide and I believe that focusing on communication can be crucial to achieve success in this overloaded information age, and this is why I believe simplicity is important. I do enjoy being close to people in order to find new communication methods and I am interested in pursuing self-initiated projects, collaborating with others, organizing exhibitions, and pursuing design solutions for localization and regional development with local communities. My journey is not over yet and I want to be open for many opportunities. Every country and every city has elements of design style, but I don't necessarily need to follow or be influenced by that in order to do business in that environment. I always strive to be neutral and flexible in the design point of view, so I can adapt and be competitive in new environmental and design situations.

I feel like I aways wanted to be an artist but didn’t know exactly which area of art I was most passionate about. I started playing piano when I was 5 and so I did have an idea of being a pianist since an early age but I guess I didn’t have enough passion to continue. After that, I started studying fine arts drawing and then with this skill I came across to become a Graphic Designer while in college in London. I remember I was really excited and open-minded because I could get access to most subject areas through design.

My style of design always aims to express "simple but meaningful solutions for your communication needs" and I try to convey the idea without many descriptions. This is my main focus and the keystone of all my design works. Every project is different, but I guess I try to find a good concept looking from different angles and aspects, understanding the company’s mission, identity and needs before starting a design plan.

I am really excited at the beginning of a work, I always try to explore as many opportunities as possible.

I think your perception and awareness plays an important role in the skill set required to be a successful designer. If you can pay attention to your surroundings and the environment around you, you can also focus on problem solving and on the better way to improve a concept design or project. After I joinedthe design studio in London,famous for corporate identity work, I had the privilege to work with a group of talented designers together. This greatly contributed to my professional development.

When I connect with a Italian designer network, I would like to organize exhibition like I did in Tokyo.

I suggest to try working with people or studios that share a similar style of yours and learn how they deal doing business with clients. It is very valuable if you wish to have your own studio in the future.

I do like to focus on the problem solving from what I see in everyday life and this process helps me to come up with an idea and then I try to write down some memo on the back of my sketch book.

Ideally, morning coffee - make a plan for a day - start work - have lunch - start work - finish early. I love to have a nice cup of coffee and pick the music for setting the mood of the day.

I don’t follow design trend because everyone has different inspiration toward project and I always find “Simple communication” and convey the idea with meaningful solutions. Through my research for project concept, I try to looking from different angles and aspects and that gave me a lot of excitement for possibilities.

Good Designer - Can solve the problem. Great Designer - Can solve the real issue but can also add character and personality to the design in a balanced manner as required by the client.

I try to keep an open mind and I’m always open to tinker with and tweak the design in several iterations until the client happens to be properly satisfied. That defines the moment I can say the work is done.

This is a really difficult question, since I had the pleasure of doing business with important clients such as Coca Cola Japan, DUNLOP, Toyota Motor Europe, Panasonic Mobile Communications Co., Ltd, Saga Prefectural Government. By working with such important companies like these I learned a lot going through the project.

Otl Aicher - 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, and more. It feels like his works can always teach me what being a professional designer is.Lance Wyman - Great creativity for every corporate identity and instant eye catching through colour and shape which can effectively involve people of all ages.

I really enjoy berlin and Amsterdam.I really appreciate the work from two schools, Bauhaus and HFG of Ulm, so I somehow feel connected to Germany as a whole. These classic legendary schools always remind me the principles of design and what beauty of design should be, combining simplicity and better functionality at the same time. I am living in Italy now but I have lived in London and Tokyo for a very long time. I learned many design directions and styles through cultural differences. Every experience contributed to my style and creativity, adding depth to my originality. About music.. yes, I do love classical music, and I often listen to several famous performers such as Kissin while I am in my creative mood. I feel like a designer contributes to society mostly by making communication easier thus improving the way people understand each other. So we could say design improved my life in such I way I can feel a connection (or lack thereof) to most of the environment around me, never apathy or indifference.

StudioKanna is a graphic design studio specialized incorporate identity and print design. Since setting up my own studio, my approachis based on finding simple but meaningfulsolutions for communication needs. I am also interested in pursuing self-initiated projects,collaborating with others, organizing exhibitions,and pursuing design solutions forregional developmentwith local communities.I mostly work by myself, but sometimes I can work as team specifically for a project. In virtue of this, I need to be responsible of not just the creative and artistic side of the design field, but also of the business side of it, such as financial, scheduling and time-constraint related issues involved.

I feel like I could consider doing pro bono work if that aligned with my schedule and it could noticeably contribute to improve my portfolio.I feel like humanitarian work should not be just a PR stunt but it should also connect to your personal interests and affinities, otherwise you can’t get a close connection to the project.

Possibly one good point of these events is, hopefully I can create a good designer network in Italy through this award and be connected with clients who appreciate my design style for future project. Also I get a chance to see and appreciate many other works that a distinguished jury thought to be worthy of merit, thus further expanding my connection with fellow designers in a international context.

I graduated with a B.A. in Graphic Design from Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design. I worked as editorial designer at British style magazine Dazed and Confused, then joined design studio North, famous for corporate identity work.

I enjoy that every work is different and I like finding the solution for problems in order to create better communication and that’s what really interests me always.

I chose to be a designer and I think this job fits me perfectly because I can get access to most subject areas through design.

StudioKanna is a graphic design studio specialized in corporate identity and print design. I am also interested in pursuing self-initiated projects, collaborating with others, organizing exhibitions, and pursuing design solutions for regional development with local communities.

I suggest to try working with people or studios that share a similar style of yours and learn how they deal doing business with clients. It is very valuable if you wish to have your own studio in the future.

Good Designer - Can solve the problem. Great Designer - Can solve the real issue but can also add character and personality to the design in a balanced manner as required by the client.

Whether the mission is understood or not, and if you challenged yourself to the next level through the project with good support from the clients.

I think the most important point is making communication easier and better. Good design will last longer and will be remembered for a very long time.

I wish I could support a design project for a local product in Italy.

Creating identity for Olympic Games or Airline / Cargo company would be interesting.

I really appreciate the work from two schools, Bauhaus and HFG of Ulm. These classic legendary schools always remind me the principles of design and what beauty of design should be, combining simplicity and better functionality at the same time.

Otl Aicher - 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, and more. Feels like can always teach me what being a professional designer is. Lance Wyman - Great creativity for every identity and instant eye catching by colour and shape which can effectively involve people of all ages.

I do like to focus on the problem solving from what I see in everyday life and this process helps me to come up with an idea and then I try to write down some memo on the back of my sketch book.

My approach for design is based on finding simple but meaningful solutions for communication needs.