Made for stonking
Stonker is a world-class kite board manufacturer based in Melbourne, Australia.
My objective was to create a distinctive board and merchandise range for sale in Japan. The project involved market and design research, ideas generation, identity development, visual conception and the creation of distinctive graphics.
The Stonker logo is based on the Japanese Hanko - an official family stamp that is used as a signature for approving documents. I wanted an iconic emblem that would be immediately distinguishable to the Japanese consumer while retaining a Western attitude.
The elements
The formal artistic concepts used in Japanese paintings to represent natural elements such as wind and water were utilised to create a graphic library that could then be combined in different ways allowing for a rapid concept prototyping (see The Boards and T-Shirts). Although I drew on these traditional Japanese graphic concepts, the final product graphics were produced using my own illustration style to create an East-meets-West aesthetic.
For example, the waves in my original sketches are refined from archetypical Japanese Ukiyo-e art prints depicting wild seas. The most famous is attributed to Katsushika Hokusai's "The Great Wave off Kanagawa" from his "36 Views of Mount Fuji" series. The final image combines both traditional Japanese illustration with my own approach.
The board meeting
The colour palette for this design was restricted to two colours based on the print technology used for Stonker's boards. Instead of allowing this restriction to limit the creative process, I decided to use the two colour palette as the design basis for the new series.
In ancient Japan colours played a significant role in defining the class of citizens. The samurai clans were noted for their omnipotent colours so I chose three samurai clan colours to design the board series - Kokihi (Red), Tokusairo (Green) and Ruriiro (Blue).
Wearable style
The graphic library provided the flexibility to create numerous t-shirt designs. The merchandise range continues and reinforces the three-colour brand model of the board series.
