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Editor Frank Scott (FS) from DesignPRWire has interviewed designer Aihara Nico (AM) for A' Design Awards and Competition. You can access the full profile of Aihara Nico by clicking here. Access more information about the award winning design Horyukaku here.
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| Interview with Aihara Nico at Tuesday 7th of January 2025 FS: What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design? AM: Inspiration for this illustrations come from Japanese classic literature “Nanso Satomi Hakkenden”. This work depicts a scene where the cornered hero fights on the castle Horyukaku.He is desperately climbing on the roof to survive. This is a popular scene in Kabuki. The frame is decorated with peonies and plum blossoms, which are important motifs in Hakkenden. Classical Japanese literature is becoming unfamiliar even to Japanese people, but I have been familiar with it since I was a child. Classical literature not only from Japan but from all over the world provides a lot of inspiration for my illustrations. FS: What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve? AM: What I wanted to achieve most was to express the tragic feeling of the main character. This scene is often depicted in ukiyo-e, but I wanted to depict a more realistic figure than just posing on the roof. I think the idea of climbing up the roof with bloody hands while holding a sword in your mouth worked. FS: What are your future plans for this award winning design? AM: I would be very happy if it leads to work related to Japanese classical literature. FS: How long did it take you to design this particular concept? AM: I made it as a private project in between work, so I don't remember exactly, but I think it probably took about 20 hours. FS: Why did you design this particular concept? Was this design commissioned or did you decide to pursuit an inspiration? AM: There are many scenes in Nanso Satomi Hakkenden that I would like to draw, and I have tried many times since I was a child. This work is one of them. FS: 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? AM: This illustration was created as a private work, but if there is an offer to use this illustration in a product, I am ready to discuss it. FS: Where there any other designs and/or designers that helped the influence the design of your work? AM: As you might expect, I respect Alphonse Mucha. I also love other illustrators from the era, such as Arthur Rackham. I also have great respect for the ukiyo-e artist Yoshitoshi Tsukioka. I owe my illustration style to these great creators. FS: What sets this design apart from other similar or resembling concepts? AM: It is a harmonious blend of traditional Japanese culture and European design elements. The clear outlines reminiscent of ukiyo-e and the taste of old Western picture books make my work very unique. FS: How did you come up with the name for this design? What does it mean? AM: The title of the work, “Horyukaku” is the name of the building the main character is climbing, and is also used in the title of Kabuki and Ukiyo-e. FS: Which design tools did you use when you were working on this project? AM: I use Photoshop to color the hand-drawn line drawings on paper. I think there are few people who draw illustrations in the same style. I've been using Photoshop for over 20 years, but I only use the basic functions. FS: What are some of the challenges you faced during the design/realization of your concept? AM: Actually, the roof tiles were the most difficult to draw. Because I had a hard time finding detailed photos. FS: What did you learn or how did you improve yourself during the designing of this work? AM: This work is very inspired by the labels of products exported from Japan to Europe during the Meiji and Taisho eras. They depict traditional Japanese motifs using cutting-edge European design at the time, and there are many outstanding Japanese-Western designs. So, I looked at a lot of materials and came up with ideas for the design.
A' Design Award and Competitions grants rights to press members and bloggers to use parts of this interview. This interview is provided as it is; DesignPRWire and A' Design Award and Competitions cannot be held responsible for the answers given by participating designers. |
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| NEWS Results will be Announced to Public on April 15, 2025. REGISTRATIONS OPEN Registration to A' Design Award & Competition 2024-2025 period is now open. |
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