Press Release
Yuko Suzuki Is Honored with the Silver A' Design Award for Curiosity Blocks Digital Art in Generative, Algorithmic, Parametric and AI-Assisted Design
Yuko Suzuki honored for generative, algorithmic, parametric and ai-assisted design by the international grand jury of the 2024 - 2025 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 18, 2025 /DesignNewswire/ Curiosity Blocks Digital Art by Yuko Suzuki, designed for NTT InterCommunication Center (ICC), has been granted the Silver A' Design Award in the Generative, Algorithmic, Parametric and AI-Assisted Design category, A' Design Award & Competition has announced. The recognition forms part of the 2024 - 2025 A' Design Award & Competition and was decided through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who evaluated anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
About the Silver A' Design Award
The Silver A' Design Award celebrates top-tier designs that embody excellence and innovation. This award acknowledges creations that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also highly functional, reflecting the designer's deep understanding and skill. Silver A' Design Award recipients are recognized for their contribution to raising industry standards and advancing the practice of design. Their work often incorporates original innovations and elicits a strong emotional response, making a notable impact on the improvement of everyday life.
Regarding Curiosity Blocks Digital Art
This work was created for an exhibition aimed at introducing children to the fun of coding. It is an animation using a technique called anamorphosis, where images are distorted in advance to appear correctly when reflected in a cylindrical mirror; essentially, a moving anamorphosis. Multiple animation parts are combined to represent the idea that new discoveries are born when curiosity connects and overlaps. The artist, who is also a printmaker, superimposed the relationship between a block and a print onto the relationship between the image on the display and the image in the mirror.
About Yuko Suzuki
Yuko Suzuki (mole^3) is a Japanese printmaker and visual artist whose work explores the intersection of traditional printmaking and digital media. She creates using open data, images, sound, generative art, and woodblock printing. Viewing coding as a form of printmaking, she considers on-screen outputs to be the digital equivalent of physical prints. Through this perspective, her practice expands the conventional understanding of printmaking. Her work has been exhibited in Japan and internationally, including at the NTT InterCommunication Center [ICC] in Tokyo and in collaboration with the Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media [YCAM].
Award Record
Yuko Suzuki is a winner of 3 A' Design Awards, including this recognition. The awards were granted in the 2024 - 2025 edition of the A' Design Award & Competition.
About the A' Generative, Algorithmic, Parametric and AI-Assisted Design Award
The A' Generative Design Award is an international design competition recognizing good generative designs from leading creators and designers worldwide. It is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to generative designers, algorithmic design professionals, ai-assisted design experts and parametric designers from all countries. Typical entries include algorithmic artworks, parametric architectures, generative graphics, ai-assisted illustrations, computational sculptures and procedural patterns. The awarded generative designs are published at https://dezigners.org/design-category/generative
About A' Design Award & Competition
Organized annually since 2008, A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The philanthropic mission of the A' Design Award is to advance society through good design, by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Nominations are peer reviewed and evaluated anonymously by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. Eligible laureates receive the A' Design Prize, which includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, uploading a work and receiving a preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. More information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://dezigners.org/170876
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/170876
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!170876
- Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/366678
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Curiosity Blocks Digital Art
- Function
- Digital Art
- Category
- Generative, Algorithmic, Parametric and AI-Assisted Design
- Discipline
- Design Strategy
- Industry
- Innovation and Design Industry
- Colors
- Midnight Blue, Steel Blue, Black, Coral and Gold
- Images
- 5
- Client
- NTT InterCommunication Center (ICC)
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Yuko Suzuki
- Country
- Japan
- Recognition
- Silver A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2024 - 2025
- Design ID
- #170876
Credits
- Image Credits
- Photo courtesy NTT InterCommunication Center, Curiosity Blocks, 2024.
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- This work is an animation that uses a technique called anamorphosis, in which images are drawn that are distorted in advance so that they will look correct when reflected in a cylindrical mirror. The artist used a technique of combining multiple animation parts to imagine how curiosity connects and overlaps to create new knowledge and discoveries.
- Inspiration
- The artist, who is also a printmaker, has overlaid the relationship between a block and a print with the relationship between an image reflected on a display and an image reflected in a mirror, incorporating into the animation the way that, like a multi-colored print, each color has its own unique layer and overlaps to form a layered structure. The title "Blocks" contains connotations such as "a mass," "a section divided into grids," "a series of commands in a program," and "a woodblock print."
- Research
- In this study, we used a program to distort an image and observed how it changed when projected onto a cylindrical mirror. Through various observations and feedback, we were able to gain a deeper understanding of how the distorted image was shaped by the mirror, and we confirmed that it was possible to create visually appealing and innovative designs. In addition, the animation incorporated mathematical elements (such as trigonometric functions and vectors) that students will learn in junior high and high school, allowing them to visually experience concepts they will learn in the future.
- Challenge
- The most difficult part was converting the flat animation into a circular animation using a program, and then experimenting to see if the design would look visually interesting when projected onto the mirror. We projected a number of patterns onto the mirror and adjusted the overall balance to determine the optimal shape. This process involved trial and error to get a visually appealing and consistent result, and it took a lot of time and effort, especially adjusting the design when reflected in the mirror.
- Realization and Technology
- This work was created using a programming language called Processing. The animation is designed with a structure that combines multiple parts like blocks, and has a layered structure for each color like a print. 16 different animation parts and their variations were created, and the program transformed them from a flat surface to a circular shape.
- Operation and Interaction
- In this animation, pre-distorted images are used so that they appear in the correct form when reflected in a cylindrical mirror. The interaction occurs primarily as the user observes in front of the mirror, with the deformation of the animation changing based on the angle and viewpoint of the mirror. The interaction is visual and depends on how the user perceives the image. To achieve better results, it is crucial to carefully adjust the patterns of distortion and the timing of the animation. The performance stands out due to its consistent visual deformation and movement, providing a strong visual impact through the mirror.
- Project Duration and Location
- This work was exhibited at "ICC Kids Program 2024 you().code().world()." held at NTT InterCommunication Center in Tokyo from July 23rd to August 25th, 2024.
- Specifications
- 1920 × 1920 pixel, 5 minutes 42 seconds, 2 pieces
- Keywords
- Generative Art, Coding, Trick Art
