Takuma Tahara Receives the Silver A' Design Award for Sawamura Award 2024 Key Visual in Graphics, Illustration and Visual Communication Design

Takuma Tahara recognized for graphics, illustration and visual communication design by the international grand jury of the 2024 - 2025 A' Design Award & Competition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COMO, Italy, April 20, 2025 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has confirmed the Silver A' Design Award in the Graphics, Illustration and Visual Communication Design category for Sawamura Award 2024 Key Visual by Takuma Tahara, designed for SAWAMURA Inc.. The result belongs to the 2024 - 2025 A' Design Award & Competition and was reached through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who scored anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.

The Silver A' Design Award Explained

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.

More About Sawamura Award 2024 Key Visual

Sawamura Award 2024 is a key visual created for a company event for new employees, held at a traditional Kabuki theatre in Kyoto, Japan. The theme of the event was tradition and innovation. The letters of the word KABUKU were drawn with varied typography, so each letter works as both a letter and an illustration. Traditional Japanese colours and patterns taken from the theatre were combined with a fresh colour scheme. The key visual was applied to certificates, invitations shaped like show tickets, seals and publicity, giving the event a unified look.

About Takuma Tahara

Takuma Tahara is a freelance graphic designer and art director in Tokyo, Japan.He works both domestically and internationally, with clients including corporations, restaurants, and hotels. His design fields are diverse, including branding, rebranding, CI, VI, logos, advertising, and packaging. In addition to client work, he also creates original typography and graphic works on his own. His designs are simple, minimal, and have a refined sense that never gets old.He also expresses words and realizations that people often overlook in their daily lives from a unique perspective in graphic design, searching for the value of graphic design not just in business.

Award Record

This recognition makes Takuma Tahara a winner of 1 A' Design Award.

About the A' Graphics, Illustration and Visual Communication Design Award

The A' Graphic Design Award is an international graphic design competition recognizing good graphic designs by best creative agencies and designers worldwide. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to graphic designers, communication designers, graphic artists and illustrators from all countries. Entries typically include logos, posters, infographics, brochures, packaging designs and business cards. Awarded graphic designs are published at https://dezigners.org/design-category/graphics

About A' Design Award & Competition

A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade organized annually since 2008. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The A' Design Award has a philanthropic mission 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. Entries are peer reviewed and anonymously evaluated 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. The A' Design Prize granted to eligible laureates 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, the upload of a work and the 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. Further information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com

Press Resources

Winner Page: https://dezigners.org/171707
A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/171707
Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!171707
Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/367352

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: Sawamura Award 2024 Key Visual
Function: Key Visual
Category: Graphics, Illustration and Visual Communication Design
Discipline: Communication Design
Industry: Branding & Advertising and Arts
Colors: Black, Dark Slate Gray, Dark Olive Green, Silver and Dim Gray
Images: 5
Client: SAWAMURA Inc.

The Recognition

Laureate: Takuma Tahara
Country: Japan
Recognition: Silver A' Design Award
Edition: 2024 - 2025
Design ID: #171707

Credits

Image Credits: #All Creator Takuma Tahara

Design Details

Unique Properties: Key visual for an event for new employees at SAWAMURA Inc. The event held at the traditional Minami-za theater in Kyoto. The unique feature of this key visual is that it synchronizes with the characteristics of the venue (Kabuki). This key visual was displayed in the client's office and at the venue, and was also used on the award certificates, social media publicity, press release, and invitations (like show tickets). The uniformity of the visuals increased the motivation of those involved in the event and heightened the excitement of the event.
Inspiration: The event theme was "KABUKU". It is close in meaning to "cut a dash". The alphabet of "KABUKU" was designed using various typography. These pieces function both as typography and as illustrations. They are both alphabetical and kabuki (Minamiza is a traditional Japanese kabuki venue) illustrations. "KABUKU" also means "playful behavior." The alphabet to look like a different motif. The event also has the sub-concept of tradition and innovation, the color scheme was chosen to evoke a feeling of traditional Japanese style combined with newness.
Research: I wanted to incorporate the actual Kabukiza theatre into the design, so I worked with the client to research the venue, looked into Kabuki itself, and studied traditional Japanese colour schemes. I incorporated patterns used in the actual Kabukiza theatre and objects used in its architecture into the design. I also fused elements that feel innovative.
Challenge: The most difficult part was the color scheme. I had never used so many colors at once in my previous work, so I tested and proposed several patterns. To refine the design, it is better not to use too many colors, but since it was decided that each winner would use different colors and patterns, I had no choice but to use many colors. It was difficult to balance traditional Japanese colors with a color scheme that felt new.
Realization and Technology: Adobe Illustrator CC
Operation and Interaction: This key visual not only serves as a formal announcement design within the concept, but also incorporates elements of traditional Japanese Kabuki visually. It can convey the meaning of the event's theme, "Tradition and Innovation," in a broader and deeper sense to new employees who participate in the event.
Project Duration and Location: The project was held at Minamiza, Kyoto, Japan on March 29, 2024
Specifications: Key visual: W728mm x H1030mm Invitation: W20mm x H76mm Seal: Diameter 40mm Certificate of commendation: W210mm x H297mm
Keywords: Key visual, Japanese, tradition, innovation