From olden times, the Japanese have had a culture ETO to celebrate each new year with an animal for that year (from 12 animals in all). The Japanese have incorporated the ETO animal into New Year’s cards, etc. but usually, the role of the animal was limited to this extent, despite the potential of this culture.

The situation was same to a shopping mall called Tokyo Midtown, located in Roppongi at the center of Tokyo. They showed the display using ETO animal in every New Year sale but they had difficulty in differentiation to what other facilities do. On the other hand, Tokyo Midtown, as the cultural complex with many art & design museums, wanted to enhance their brand image towards “making culture as the center for art and design”. So they wanted to offer a New Year event to involve people and communicate the creative brand image.

53 different dog illustrations were created incorporating the calculated slit system so that people can combine different types of blocks freely for creative construction. The precision of the block connections was based on the high-level Japanese craftsmanship, using no adhesives. The illustrations made the objects of art would look cool, whoever the construction was done by.

The dog illustrations were designed after typical poses & shapes for dogs, such as floor dogs & long dogs. Variations of festive colors and patterns were prepared to allow rich expression.

At the New Year event of Tokyo Midtown, A huge dog monument was constructed for the targets’ appreciation. Small versions of the flat blocks enabled visitors to indulge in creating their own ARF!-itecture. Their art pieces were also exhibited for broader interest.

As the modern ETO culture is experienced by many targets and leave strong impression, the culture itself would expand automatically.