The Hoshi Awards are named after Shinichi Hoshi, one of Japan's leading science fiction writers, and are presented to authors of science-based works of fiction that exhibit exceptional literary merit. The awards are open to all ages, from children to adults. Our challenge was to create a visual identity that effectively communicates the spirit of creativity that the awards celebrate to this wide range of generations. In addition, our design had to be adaptable enough to be consistently applied to materials ranging from promotional posters to awards ceremony videos and book design.

In keeping with the spirit of the Hoshi Awards, our creative solution sought to express the idea that an endless appetite for new ideas has always driven human evolution. Transposing this appetite to the animal kingdom, we used the seemingly unlikely visual motif of a giraffe to create a range of awards-related materials. With visuals depicting a giraffe stretching its neck to explore the world in all directions, we reflected the endless appetite for imaginative ideas exhibited by Hoshi Award winners in a whimsical and engaging way.

To execute our design motif, we graphically depicted the giraffe's journey of exploration, at times burrowing into tunnels before emerging again, and at times peering over walls. In contrast to the giraffe's iconic neck, which was stripped down to its essential elements and used to form attractive repeating patterns, the head of the giraffe was whimsically illustrated to add character and make the viewer curious about the giraffe's journey. A soft grey tone was used for the background to make the giraffe's bright yellow color stand out vividly, creating a positive impression that reflects the potential of new worlds opening up through the process of exploration.

In Japanese education, a clear distinction is made between the humanities and sciences, and science-based fiction is generally considered to be a niche genre that lacks wide appeal. Our design worked to dispel this notion by appealing to a broad cross-section of the reading public. Aided by this appeal, the number of works submitted to the award judging committee increased by 11% over the previous year to reach a record-breaking level. It also attracted a greater diversity of entries, and even included a winning entry that was co-created by an artificial intelligence algorithm.