Yusuke Obikawa , who worked on the design of the TOMICA 55th Anniversary Edition CIVIC TYPE R
Yusuke Obikawa , who worked on the design of the TOMICA 55th Anniversary Edition CIVIC TYPE R

Designers Inspiring Each Other Through an Internal Competition

Mr. Obikawa, you are usually not in charge of product design. What area do you work in?

Obikawa
I originally worked as a designer of spaces before joining Honda as a mid-career hire. As a communications designer, I usually work on various non-product designs from the perspective of branding. I was involved in the design of our booth at CES, which was held recently in Las Vegas.

55th anniversary model
Design presentation

The design of the TOMICA 55th Anniversary Edition model was chosen through an internal competition. Is it common to hold such competitions?

Obikawa
At Honda’s Design Center, we usually create product designs through something like a competition. This time, it was a special project commemorating TOMICA’s 55th anniversary, and an approach different from our usual designs was needed. A key theme was to express the sense of scale, fun, and the history and originality of Honda and the Civic Type R using the scale of a TOMICA model.

I took part, wanting to use my experience in space design to take on a new challenge. TOMICA products are symbols of the cars themselves and loved by people across a wide range of age groups. I wanted to see how my design would be evaluated and how well it would function as an actual product. I also felt drawn to this challenge of condensing the essence of the actual car down to the size of a small model.

What inspirations did you get from participating in this competition?

Obikawa
In developing my ideas, I was able to compare ideas with the designers around me and gave each other advice as I worked on my own ideas. The process of refining my own work while comparing it with other designs was extremely meaningful. Such an environment was a valuable experience that would otherwise be difficult to gain through my usual work, and I received a lot of inspiration through coming into contact with the ideas of other participants. For example, I came across directions that I had never thought of before, including proposals centered on graphic design and bold coloring that was not found on actual vehicles.

The proposals by other designers also spanned a wide variety

A Design That Is Both Dynamic and High Class Which Everyone from Children to Adults Can Enjoy

What is the design concept?

Obikawa
The Civic Type R is a sports car that I dream about. It is a fast and cool car. While wondering how to express this, I decided on the theme of “a fusion of speed and texture.” Actual cars are designed with how they look when moving also being taken into consideration, but TOMICA models are often admired when they are still. I emphasized a design with flowing lines to give a sense of speed even when still as well as coloring and texture that look high class. In particular, to make the overall body look simple and dynamic, I used a bright blue as the base color, adding black lines as accent. Regarding texture, instead of the glossy finish usually used for TOMICA models, I was determined to use a matt finish. In this way, when children as well as adults who collect TOMICA models as a hobby pick up the model, they can feel that it is special.

55th anniversary model

What were the areas that you paid particular attention to when working on the design?

Obikawa
The size of a TOMICA model is small, and it is difficult to reproduce all of the minute details found on the actual car. Therefore, I paid attention to creating a design that gives a dynamic look so as to bring out the overall impression. When selecting the color, people think about red when you talk about Honda, but I tried a bright blue color. I decided on this blue color after asking a colleague in charge of colors to create numerous samples while changing the paint formula. There are many cars from other manufacturers with blue as their image color, and I pursued a blue color that brings out originality while also studying their colors. When combined with a matt texture, a sense of high class was produced.

The proposals by other designers also spanned a wide variety

With the cooperation of a color designer, the preferred blue color was carefully selected from an enormous number of samples

* The model shown is from the collaboration during TOMICA’s 50th anniversary
* The model shown is from the collaboration during TOMICA’s 50th anniversary

The way you use bold lettering, such as the “55” on the sides and “R” on the roof, also draws attention.

Obikawa
I strived to create a design that would make customers think, “I have never seen this before” when it reaches them. I am not a car designer, and as this is a design by me, instead of being particular about the details, I focused on striking a balance in the overall image. Even so, I still paid some simple attention to the details, such as aligning the curvature of the “55” and “R” logos. I also tried coming up with my own design for the product’s packaging, even though it was not adopted due to TOMICA’s regulations. Creating all of the designs for delivering a product to customers is something characteristic of a communications designer.

Future Prospects

How did you feel when your design was adopted?

Obikawa
I was simply delighted. I heard that this TOMICA model would be produced in great numbers, and I am happy that my design would be brought to so many people, as it is not often that you can get several tens of thousands of people to visit an event booth or such for which I worked on the space design. This competition took place around two to three months after I joined Honda, and I was worried whether my design would be accepted as I was new to Honda. This experience therefore gave me confidence in myself.

The design for this 55th anniversary model was also reproduced as a wrap for an actual car, right?

Obikawa
The hardest part was recreating this blue color for the car wrap film, but the importance of the color increases when the size gets bigger. When working at the size of a TOMICA model, I focused on a dynamic look, intentionally ignoring small details and such. I thought it might be somewhat lacking when enlarged to an actual car, but the impression was compensated by the color’s sense of presence. I learned a lot more about cars through this project, and I feel blessed to have this great opportunity toward developing my career going forward.

What kind of future communication do you think this initiative will lead to?

Obikawa
I think we will be able to build new ties with users through design. In particular, for a product like a TOMICA model, which reaches the hands of a wide range of people, from children to adults, I felt that the excitement brought by a single design is extremely large. Through this experience, I hope to create designs that more people can empathize with and use design as a method for effectively conveying our brand message.

Profiles

Yusuke Obikawa

Yusuke Obikawa

Communications Designer