Icons for Japanese Culture

The four icons represent four important aspects of Japanese culture and the environment in which I grew up.

Project Task

The project guidelines were to design four original informational icons. The icons must have a cohesive design. I first chose to create icons on the topic of "Environment" and later decided to focus on my living environment in Tokyo where I grew up.

Having lived in the United States since 2016, I have experienced two very different cultures. Although I admire and appreciate some aspects of the culture in the United States, this experience allowed me to look back at my home country and appreciate its environment even more.

Process

I divided the four important aspects of Japanese culture into transportation and safety, food and community, architecture and nature, and clean public spaces.

Through sketching the icons, I challenged myself to use various perspectives and shapes to create a more dynamic icon. In this way, I was able to utilize my knowledge and skills as an illustrator.

The final design became a combination of my sketches where I would take the overall shape of the circle but implement previous illustrative elements.

Iterations

Once I finalized my sketches, I illustrated them in Adobe Illustrator. The consistency is achieved through the circle frame, consistent line width, and simplified illustrations with curved edges. The final iteration was achieved through notes by my team members.

The space between the train and the platform doors was later emphasized by showing the bottom of the train.
The circles for drinks and food were later varied to differentiate them.
The interaction between the architecture and nature was later emphasized by extending the tree further down and giving the squirrel more movement.
The towel held by the janitor gained more realism after curving the lines to match the seat.

Details

The vector icons were illustrated and colored in Adobe Illustrator. I would use the Edit Color tool to go back and forth with color options. The illustrations are simple so that the information is clear. Every element in the icon is illustrated to add to the narrative instead of distracting from it.

This icon shows a foreshortened view of a child waiting for the train during their commute to school. Many children in Tokyo Japan can use public transportations by themselves thanks to their safety and convenience. The yellow hat and the curvy bag are key features of the typical student.
This icon shows a bird's eye view of a group of people gathered around a table and enjoying food. In Japan, many people enjoy community through food. Differences in skin color were added later to acknowledge diversity.
This icon shows the top of a house which does not interfere but in fact, co-exists with the tree and animals. In Japan, there is much emphasis on harmony whether that be in design or the way of living.
This icon shows the interaction between a train station janitor and a person waiting for a train. The seats as well as its signboard are obvious indications of a train platform in Japan. Clean public spaces are one of the important attributes of Japan that cultivate and maintain respect and care for shared spaces.

Results

Overall the icon has a cohesive design while expressing a variety of narratives. By limiting the color palette and the line expressions, the icons can exist in the same visual world. It was interesting to play with the push and pull of elements to best tell the narrative. Even though these are simple illustrations that seem familiar, they hold specific elements of my style of design that give them a playful look.

These key aspects of Japanese cultures are mainly of my personal experience and highlights. All of the introduced topics have played a large role in my upbringing in Japan. Although it is something that I had taken for granted, traveling and comparing cultures have given me a further appreciation towards those characteristics.