I designed and produced a report for the UK Government Department of Trade and Industry (DTI, but now known as UK Trade and Investment Japan). They had commissioned Andy Shorten, a British fashion designer and retailer with some experience of selling in Japan, to tour and report back on the market there.
Andy came back fired with enthusiasm, his study of Japanese street fashion revealed that the young combine high end ‘Designer’ fashion labels with cheaper ‘Street’ garments in quite unexpected ways. ‘Burberry with bovver boots’, a new found ‘post-Punk’ individualism based very much on the British music scene, his report concluded there was a huge opportunity for British fashion designers and retailers in Japan. The document also provides a useful list of UK Government contacts, here and in Japan, who will assist in promoting their enterprise.
Andy’s written report together with his photographs and an assortment of ephemera and magazines he had gathered formed the basis for my design of the Style guide. These I used for my layouts, I chose a bright and lively colour palette, organised his raw information and edited his report into a logical brochure format. I created a youthful infographic style, hand drawn icons and pictograms, from the dry statistics DTI provided. The Style guide was then printed and distributed by DTI to leading members of the British fashion industry to encourage exports to Japan.
Stuart Russell 