When the first new-generation CI exhibition “Hiromi Inayoshi (aka Yu Kitagawa) vs. Gaku Ohta “ was held in November 1996, or- ganized by the CI Renaissance Commit- tee, it became big public news. What was unique about this exhibition was that designers themselves auditioned their cli- ents (public organizations or non-profit organizations) through open calls. Then, two organizations were selected by the com- mittee from among many applicants, and at the end, CI design works of those organ- izations were exhibited next to each other. Through visitor voting, coupled with the committee’s jury process, the winning organ- ization was to be awarded CI design with- out design fees. This attempt was the first of its kind not only domestically but inter- nationally. Over 100 organizations respond- ed to the open call and sent in applica- tions. One of the organizations selected at that event was Alive.
Alive, Earth Animal Conference is a non- profit foundation that promotes vari- ous social actions around the theme of co- existing with animals. I myself had my own idea about coexistence between all liv- ing things (animals, plants, insects, fish, microorganisms, etc.) and mankind, so de- signing CI for Alive, I felt a particular significance as a designer. So, I started di- rectly expressing my own subconscious feelings about all living things through free- hand drawings, without the usual formal- ity of Corporate Mark design. I decided to challenge myself by creating timeless CI applications with the concept of infinite drawings. As a result, the Corporate Mark for Alive, entitled “Mandala of Life,” was born, precisely reflecting my de- sign philosophy, in which I advocate that “CI design is Art and Corporate Mark is a pic- torial form of Art.”