Comic artist Shu Kuge creates new Tokyo – San Francisco map for Social Models

もう紹介したかもしれないのですが、Shu Kugeという漫画家がこの地図を描いてくれました。１３年前、初めて作ったビジネスのホームページにも素敵な地図とスタッフの似顔絵を描いてくれました。今回も地図を描いてもらって嬉しいです。「ソーシャル・モデルズ」は東京とサンフランシスコをつなぐデザイン・リサーチ会社です。

Maybe you have seen this already? Comic artist Shu Kuge made this map showing how the ocean connects Tokyo and San Francisco. For my first business website thirteen years ago, Shu drew a very memorable office map and staff avatars. I am lucky that he has created something new for Social Models, my new design research studio that is co-located in these two great port cities.

Cherry blossoms will start popping on March 31 in Tokyo

桜開花の地図はとても詳しいと思いませんか？　日本だけです。

I love the obsessive forecasting of cherry blossom season, and its progression from south to north across the archipelago.

 

Making a giant green map with pre-schoolers in Shibaura. Kids still enjoy drawing with pens and markers.

芝浦の小学校で、未来町を考えるのために、子供たちは生き物の絵を書いて、巨人の地図にはりました。水辺と公園が子供たちを引きつけました。このイベントで、たくさん新いテクノロジーがありましたが、子供たちまだ絵と塗り絵がまだ好きです。

Recently I conducted a kids art workshop at Shibaura’s public elementary school. The free event was organized by Mitsui Fudosan, Recruit, and Neighbors Meeting, which printed this cool map of Shibaura. We asked kids to draw an animal or plant and add it to the map.

There were several surprises. Many of the kids who participated were two to four years old. They loved the coloring book of land and sea creatures created by Shu Kuge. On the Shibaura map, the kids were drawn to the water, both Tokyo Bay and the canals, as well as to the existing parks. One kid made his own Tokyo Tower and folded it so that it would stand vertically.

The other surprise is that kids still enjoy coloring and drawing. The event was billed as a celebration of future city, and our workshop competed for attention with a very cool pedal powered, ride-on-top shinkansen, a 3D printer, solar-powered remote control cars, and iPad games.