Spectrum イラストレーション by Arata Yokoyama is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2023 A' Design Award 銅賞 in グラフィックス・イラストレーション・ビジュアルコミュニケーションデザイン Competition Category.

銅グラフィック· 2023

Spectrum イラストレーション

by Arata Yokoyama

Client: Arata Yokoyama

A' Design Award 銅賞 Winner in グラフィック Category

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Colors

The Design

About Spectrum イラストレーション

「Spectrum(スペクトラム)」は、日本のストリートファッションを日本のアニメ的な様式で描いたデジタルイラストレーションである。写実的表現を避け、鮮やかな色彩をフラットに配しながらも、視覚的に自然に見えるよう仕上げている。背景は東京のネオンの光を表現し、シャープでフラット、かつ発光するような効果を狙って形態を大胆に単純化した。欧米のグラフィックデザインの要素と、日本のキャラクターイラストレーションを融合させている。本作はAdobe Photoshop CCを用いて描かれた。国内外の鑑賞者に対して、そのスタイルが明確に伝わることを意図している。

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award 銅賞

Spectrum イラストレーションは、創造性、独創性、鋭い洞察力で際立つ傑出したデザインに授与される、高い権威をもつ評価である A' Design Award 銅賞の受賞作品です。銅賞の受賞作品は、十分に巧みで印象的なほど創造的な工芸品であり、デザイナーの豊富な経験、想像力、機知を裏づけています。Spectrum イラストレーションは、高く評価され、称賛され、愛される品であり、顕著にプロフェッショナルで革新的であることが期待されます。この A' Design Award 銅賞を受賞したデザインは、芸術・科学・デザイン・技術のベストプラクティスを取り入れており、細部への配慮に優れています。Spectrum イラストレーションは、ニーズを見事に満たし、欲求に触れ、感情を魅了し、好奇心を引きつけます。

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: This work depicts Japanese street fashion in the style of Japanese anime.

Such motifs are popular in Japanese illustration, but this work is unique in that it defies photorealism and uses vivid colors in a flat, yet optically natural-looking manner.

The background represents the neon lights of Tokyo, and here, too, the form is boldly deformed in pursuit of a sharp, flat, yet luminous expression.
Dimensions & Packaging: 8000 x 5678 pixel, 400dpi, RGB
Tags: street fashion, anime, character design, japanese illustration, vivid color
Production Technology: Drawing with Adobe Photoshop CC
Design Challenge: In order to convey the goodness of a particular thing, I must first like it myself.
In order to use street fashion as my subject matter, I focused on improving my sense of style by experiencing and wearing it myself.

I also devoted myself to researching painting styles that would convey the good looks equally to both Japanese and foreign audiences.
To compose the picture with flat surfaces, not lines. He used vivid colors, but kept the entire picture in harmony. And at the same time, to make the characters look cool and cute in a Japanese way.
Research: A study of street fashion in Japan and abroad. Collect snapshots, purchase actual items, and wear them myrself to deepen understanding of function and design.

Research on drawing techniques. Challenged to fuse Western graphic design with Japanese character illustration. Strived to find a balance between deforming the form and color of objects while maintaining the cool, cute, and liveliness of the characters.
Inspiration: Today, fashion based on techwear and designs using vivid colors are global trends.

Japanese street fashion and illustrations are also in that trend, but they also have their own unique characteristics.

I analyzed the coincidences and differences between them and aimed to visualize them.

Japanese people will find this illustration foreign. Foreigners may feel it is Japanese.

This in-between state is the expression I pursued.
Project Duration: This work was created in 10 hours on September 20, 2020, and published on Twitter, pixiv, and other social networking sites that day.
Operation Flow: Suggestions about the affinity between street fashion and the neon streets of Tokyo and how cool it can be.

Especially in Japan, when proposing a fashion style to an audience, it is more effective to use characters, deformed and idealized visuals rather than photo-realistic ones.

And it is also effective when introducing Japanese culture to people outside of Japan. By incorporating elements of Western graphic design, we aimed to create visuals that would be easy for them to understand.
Image Credits: #1: Illustrator NaBaBa, Private Work, 2020.