Bronze A' Design Award in Idea and Conceptual Design Goes to Anima Code Personal Seal Stamp by Takuma Yamazaki

Takuma Yamazaki recognized for idea and conceptual design by the international grand jury of the 2020 - 2021 A' Design Award & Competition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COMO, Italy, April 23, 2021 /DesignNewswire/ Anima Code Personal Seal Stamp by Takuma Yamazaki has been granted the Bronze A' Design Award in the Idea and Conceptual Design category, A' Design Award & Competition has announced. The result belongs to the 2020 - 2021 A' Design Award & Competition and was determined 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.

What the Bronze A' Design Award Means

The Bronze A' Design Award is given to outstanding designs that showcase a high degree of creativity and practicality. It recognizes the dedication and skill of designers who produce work that stands out for its thoughtful development and innovative use of materials and technology. These designs are acknowledged for their professional execution and potential to influence industry standards positively. Winning this award highlights the designer's ability to blend form and function effectively, offering solutions that enhance people's lives and wellbeing.

More About Anima Code Personal Seal Stamp

Anima Code is a personal seal stamp with an engraved QR code. The code holds an access key to a person's online digital data. Many people record their lives on social media, yet these archives often become inaccessible after death. Anima Code allows the bereaved to scan a code stamped beforehand and reach the digital archives of the deceased. The stamp is made of transparent acrylic, laser engraved to precise dimensions, and measures 10 mm square and 62 mm long. The packaging is made of paulownia wood, a material long used in Japan for storage.

About Takuma Yamazaki

My ultimate goal is to live a life full of joy as a human being, not just in terms of success as a designer. My design journey could be an iteration of translating that the philosophies I've gained in my life into my design works. It’ s a natural way for me to live and also, my joy of life. Rather than limiting my design practice to industrial design, in the future, I would like to explore a cross-disciplinary approach with various media to deliver my message more clearly and effectively to the world.

Award Record

With this recognition, Takuma Yamazaki is a winner of 1 A' Design Award.

About the A' Idea and Conceptual Design Award

The A' Idea Design Award is an international idea design competition recognizing great ideas by designers, creators, innovators and free thinkers worldwide. It is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to idea designers, conceptual designers, innovation consultants and creative thinkers from all countries. Typical entries include innovations, prototypes, blueprints, sketches, models and concepts. The awarded idea designs are published at https://dezigners.org/design-category/idea

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/111284
A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/111284
Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!111284
Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/286282
Further Information from the Laureate: https://www.takumayamazaki.com/

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: Anima Code Personal Seal Stamp
Function: Personal Seal Stamp
Category: Idea and Conceptual Design
Discipline: Communication Design
Industry: Design Industry and Innovation
Colors: Lavender, Silver, Dark Slate Gray, Dark Gray and Dim Gray
Images: 5

The Recognition

Laureate: Takuma Yamazaki
Country: Japan
Recognition: Bronze A' Design Award
Edition: 2020 - 2021
Design ID: #111284

Credits

Image Credits: Photo:Takuma Yamazaki Design: Takuma Yamazaki

Design Details

Unique Properties: Anima Code is a Hanko (Japanese personal seal) with an engraved QR code. The unique code contains a key to a person's online digital data, and after his or her death, the bereaved ones can reach the person's digital archives by scanning the code stamped beforehand. Through the physical interaction of stamping a seal, this project explores the secure yet intimate approach for inheritance in the digital era.
Inspiration: Since the rise and domination of social media, many of us continue to leave a trace of our life online with texts, photos and videos. While that uploaded media collective has the potential to projects a multifaceted view of an individual's life, however, once the contributor dies, such digital archives are forgotten and not accessible to even our loved ones. I found the possibility of a physical and emotional act of stamping as a solution to this ongoing social issue.
Research: In addition to the digital data after one’s death, the shortage of land for cemeteries and their management has become a social issue in recent times. In a complex age that is technology-driven but still largely material, this project examines the end of life from both digital and analogue perspectives. Through the miniaturization of graves and the harmonization of data and physicality, this product is intended to be an alternative solution to these problems.
Challenge: In terms of the attempt to bridge the present world to afterlife, this product exists between the real and unreal worlds. Because of its unique characteristic of the project, the biggest challenge was how I could design ambiguity without ruining the function as a stamp. For proceeding the project, deliberation and respect for various cultures and religions are also required, reconciling diverse views on life and death with the universality of the event of passing away.
Realization and Technology: This product adopts acrylic as a major material for its highly weather-resistant and processability. This transparent material is also a metaphor for the intangibility and ambiguity of digital data and its anti-ageing property. In cooperation with a technical manufacturer, it will be laser-engraved to cut out highly precise dimensions. The engraved surface will also be hydrophilic coated for sharp-edge printing so that a camera can read at 10mm square QR code.
Operation and Interaction: Users register their social media accounts with the product through a dedicated service before their death. A stamp is produced with an imprinted QR code that serves as an access key to those online services. People who are given the seal will be able to read it with a camera and access the archived data of the deceased.
Project Duration and Location: Began in Japan in 2019 and is underway for official launch in 2021.
Specifications: The dimensions of the stamp are 10mm square and 62mm long; the proportions complement the delicacy and precision of the QR code engraving. The packaging is made of paulownia wood, a material that is highly airtight and suitable for storage to maintain proper internal humidity. The box made of paulownia wood has been used in Japan since ancient times to store and preserve porcelain and art objects, and also means "inheritance".
Keywords: Hanko, Seal, Digital, Inheritance, QR Code, Analogue, Social Media, Die, Graves, Tomb