UK Design for the Revitalisation of Ibaraki

Project Overview:

Joyo Bank, a regional bank located in Ibaraki Prefecture in Japan has launched a design competition for students in the UK titled “UK Design for the Revitalisation of Ibaraki”. This competition is organised by Joyo Bank in partnership with Mito City and the British Council in Japan. We are now inviting UK universities to register participation in this project and promote this opportunity among students.

The project will invite students currently studying at higher education institutions in the UK to participate in a competition in which students will be asked to create new designs for local Ibaraki products.  The company producing the product will select the final design and the packaged product, which will include the winner’s signature and their institution name and will be released in the local market from summer 2017. The winner will be invited to visit Ibaraki for one week during summer 2017 to meet the company and visit local places to gain an understanding of Japanese culture and the market. The winner will be asked to promote Ibaraki and its tourist spots via social media after they return to the UK.

As local media outlets are expected to feature the story, this is an excellent opportunity for both the student and the institution to raise their profile in Japan.

This project aims to help revitalise the local economy in Ibaraki. Joyo Bank is keen to work with UK students as the UK is well known for its excellence in design. It is hoped that this unique competition and the innovative designs that emerge from it will help: a) raise recognition of the local products across Japan and boost sales and b) raise awareness amongst the local industry about the power and importance of design. UK students can also benefit from the experience of working with businesses outside the UK particularly in terms of enhancing their capacity to work in an inter-cultural environment.

Application details for students are written in the Project Brief below, and the deadline for students to submit designs is 2 April 2017.

For further details about the competition, please see Project and Creative Brief downloadable below.

Key dates:

30 January
Announcement of the project/creative brief and guidelines for UK institutions
UK institutions to register their participation and promote the competition amongst students

February to end March
Students work on their design

2 April
Deadline for students to submit designs

End April
Local company to select design(s)

May to July
Design to be applied to the products

July to August
Winner to be invited to visit Ibaraki 

Enquiry:

All enquiries will be handled by Joyo Bank so please contact Mr Keizo Kamikawa at: kamikawa.keizo_j01@joyobank.co.jp.