Hasta La Ideas

Designers for Japan prints for sale from Simon Taylor (left) and Graham Wood (right)

Designers for Japan is a collective of designers, photographers, art directors and imagemakers from around the world. Its aims are to offer support to peers, colleagues and friends in Japan, aid disaster relief and to act as a forum for anyone wishing to look at how visual communications can help in future disasters, wherever they may be

As soon as the terrible events of March 11 became known, there was a great urge to help among designers and imagemakers, many of whom have strong links to Japan. But how?

The website Designers for Japan was set up to focus that effort and, hopefully, to help create models for future responses to humanitarian crises by this community. It has three main aims: fundraising, long-term support and to drive practical ways in which visual communications can help both in Japan and in future crises.

First, fundraising. An auction of design and art-related items is planned for the near future. In the meantime, the dozens of imagemakers and designers who have already offered helped have been asked to create a print which can be sold to raise money for the Red Cross and for ShelterBox, the charity that provides emergency relief kits.

Designers for Japan prints for sale from Genevieve Gauckler (left) and M/M (Paris) (right)

Contributors were asked to create an image that reflected their admiration for Japan and to express their feelings towards the country, its people and its creative community. The prints are on sale via Print-Process at £30 for A2 or £60 for A1. All proceeds after print, paper, production and postage will be split between the two charities.

Buy here.

Designers for Japan prints for sale from Christopher Gray (left) and James Goggin (right)

Creative Review has leaned organisational support to the project and a selection of the prints will be featured in our May Monograph booklet. If you would like to contribute a print, please email info@designersforjapan.com

Maharishi Designers for Japan print

As well as fundraising, Designers for Japan hopes to promote practical means by which visual communications can aid in disaster relief, both in Japan and in any future crises. Currently, there is a desperate need for food, shelter, water and information. Our community can help with the latter.

Designers for Japan, which is supported by CR, will attempt to address these issues through contact with NGOs and organisations in Japan, discussion and, through that, the setting of briefs to both students and professionals, but more ideas are very much encouraged. Please email suggestions to info@designersforjapan.com

In addition, there is a daily letter from Tokyo on the site from designer Toru Yoshikawa, giving a street level view of the situation.

AKQA creative director Rei Inamoto recently joined the organisers of Designers for Japan: “For many victims who lost their homes and families, what’s really tough is not just behind them but ahead of them. The series of events – one alone is tragic enough, they had three – is unbelievably traumatic but the world is quickly moving on from it. It’s been only two weeks but the news has been replaced with other events (in some cases, rightfully so),” he says. “I’d like Designers for Japan to be an ongoing platform for many a designer around the world, long into the future.”

Please see designersforjapan.com. All contributions/help/advice welcome.

Designers for Japan prints for sale from Build, Hudson Powell and Blam. More here