Our brief was to develop design assets for the 6th Annual Hoshi Awards, a literary competition named after Shinichi Hoshi, a pioneer of Japanese science fiction literature. The awards were created to honor writers of fiction whose work is infused with scientific imagination. Entries in previous competitions have dealt with artificial intelligence and other topics, and have been recognized not only for literary merit, but also for their impact on ongoing scientific research.

To encourage authors of all ages and genders to participate in the awards competition, our creative sought to stimulate the spirit of scientific inquiry that is common to all humanity. We chose “Adventures in Observation” as our design theme, and used icons and colored arrows to represent unique perspectives and the varied worlds they can discover. Our goal was to make people exposed to the design recognize the value of individualism and original thinking in every creative endeavor.

Our poster graphics use star icons to symbolize authors' creative aspirations, and eye icons to symbolize their powers of observation. Colored arrows depict the diversity of paths taken by each individual’s creative process. The scale of these paths is evoked across the poster series, with some posters showing the graphic elements in extreme closeup with visible ink grain, and others showing them from an all-seeing, overhead perspective.

The Japanese educational system has traditionally treated the humanities and applied sciences are entirely separate disciplines. This has reinforced the stereotype of “science nerds” who are out of touch with society. Our design overcomes this by giving visual form to the spirit of scientific inquiry that is common to all people. As a result, the 6th Annual Hoshi Awards successfully drew entries from male and female authors across the social spectrum, ranging in age from 6 to 80 years old.