Spectrum 插畫 by Arata Yokoyama is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2023 A' Design Award 銅獎 in 平面設計 Competition Category.

銅平面· 2023

Spectrum 插畫

by Arata Yokoyama

Client: Arata Yokoyama

A' Design Award 銅獎 Winner in 平面 Category

12,235

Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #144936

Visit Site View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About Spectrum 插畫

《Spectrum》係一幅數碼插畫作品,以日本動漫嘅風格描繪日本街頭時尚。呢件作品避免咗寫實主義嘅表現手法,以扁平化嘅方式運用鮮艷嘅色彩,視覺上依然顯得自然。背景呈現出東京嘅霓虹燈光,造型大膽簡化,營造出銳利、扁平而富有光澤嘅效果。作品將西方平面設計嘅元素同日本角色插畫結合埋一齊。《Spectrum》係用Adobe Photoshop CC繪製而成,目的係要令呢種風格無論喺日本國內定係海外嘅觀眾都能夠清晰理解。

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award 銅獎

Spectrum 插畫是 A' Design Award 銅獎得主，這是授予以創造力、獨創性和敏銳見長的傑出設計的極具聲望的認可。銅獎得主是技藝嫻熟、創意驚人的作品，印證了其設計師豐富的經驗、想像力與機智。預計Spectrum 插畫將成為一件備受推崇、令人欽佩且被珍愛的物品，兼具顯著的專業性與創新性。這件贏得 A' Design Award 銅獎的設計融入藝術、科學、設計和技術領域的最佳實踐，並因注重細節而出類拔萃。Spectrum 插畫出色地滿足需求，觸動渴望，迷住情感，並吸引好奇心。

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.