Critical reflection



The project research is started from the personal interest of Japanese traditional tattoos. As the cutting point, the beginning of the project starts with searching a useful idea from the personal interests. It is believed, the one with special personality will attract more attention in the crowd. In other words, a special personality can inspire more characteristic and unique ideas. Therefore, at the beginning of the research, I start with a few personal hobbies from mine and friends’ around in order to grasp different characteristic ideas, such as video gaming, movies, travelling, cooking, sports, and so on. At last, I found the wonderful idea through the hobby of mine, the Japanese traditional tattoos.

There are several reasons to choose this subject as the main idea of my project. Firstly, since I came to London for my degree study, it is really easy to find that the londoners are the tattoo lovers. There are so many people wearing tattoos walking on streets, proudly and comfortably. This is a situation that totally different from China, as it is heard, so does even in Japan. It brings a lot of cultural impact to me and really opens my mind. Secondly, when it is my first time attending to the International London Tattoo Convention, I met my Irezumi tattoo artist Leon, and started my deep connection with Japanese traditional tattoos, specially with the Horiyoshi III family. During my tattoo procedure, from the communication with Leon, I learnt a lot about the Horiyoshi III family, and his tattoo art pursuits. The tattoo art works and his aesthetic spirits have deeply impressed me. Finally, I also find that even Horiyoshi III is known by the West nowadays, however, he is only known inside the tattoo art craft industry, even only to whom is interested in Japanese tattoo styles. There are both a demand and a chance to unite his fans for such a living legent. It is also a good opportunity to transmit the Japanese traditional culture which is one of the venerable outstanding asian cultures through this permanent art form on human body.  

Coming to the project planning, it was a strong concertation work at first, focusing on Horiyoshi III family subject, and then it became to a massive work for accomplishing the fans club idea. Firstly, in order to be aware as much as possible about Horiyoshi III  himself and his tattoo aesthetic spirits, the plan tries to grasp everything related to him or his family. At this step, it is really helpful that I get to know with Leon who has a tight connection with Horiyoshi family as an apprentice to the one who is already a direct apprentice under Horiyoshi III himself. Following the step, the research learnt about Horiyoshi III’s tattoo art works and his aspiration. Furthermore, I learnt about the extending of related business with his tattoo art figures, and the museum he established. So far, we can see the development that have been done by Horiyoshi III and his students, is well spreading out from the East to the West step by step. Therefore, the following plan of the project takes this diffusion of Horiyoshi III family as a lead to continue for the club plan being practical. Practically, the plan is depending on more specific organization and consideration as business planning. However, for the reason that the priority goal of the club is only creating a happy spot for the fans, uniting them together, and the cultural communication. Hence the club is decided to be a nonprofit community.

Practically, at the beginning of the design project development, it is a hard way to proceed. Basing on the Zen spiritual understanding of Horiyoshi III, the first idea comes to me is the traditional Japanese temple which is having so many religion characters. However, the figure of temple is too complex and hard to be abstracted into a classy symbol. Therefore, the idea cannot go further, and the project has to reconsider more Japanese traditional elements, specially related to the tattoo figures.

Speaking to the highlighted figures and images of traditional Japanese tattoos, there are specifically a few, such as the oriental dragon, oriental lion(cici), peony, oriental cherry(sakura), and the different warriors in Japanese history and traditional legends. It takes a lot of time to try these figures into the design. During the process, it appears that there are too many elements I want to present in the design. This attempt makes thing like a mess. Hence, I stopped and returned to the primary spiritual artistic aspiration from Horiyoshi the third himself. Fortunately, the best idea comes out in a short while. It is inspired by the traditional seal of Horiyoshi III’s signature. The seal is used formally by Horiyoshi III on his tattoo works when it is the IREZUMI-the whole body tattoo works. It becomes the specific symbol for Horiyoshi III’s master pieces day by day. It is believed as a glory representation of Horiyoshi III. Therefore, nothing will be better than the seal form to represent the family which is deeply believe in the Horiyoshi III’s tattoo art and his spiritual aspiration.

To decide the colour and tone of the design is not so hard as for the main figure. Going back to the Zen spirit, Horiyoshi III and his family is dedicated to keeping  “the traditional Japanese Zen based spirit of Kokoro-a simple translation would be heart or mind and in the emotional sense spirit, courage, affection and inner meaning-Alive.” In the Japanese traditional culture, Green is the color of fertility and growth. In addition, Green can also represent eternity, since evergreen trees never lose their leaves or stop growing. Hence, the logo design takes colour Green as it endows the design with the alive soul. In order to keep it pure, the design choose to keep the whole works simply in one single colour. Moreover, the pure and clean design also represents a well known ideal of Japanese design industry-Less for More.

When the whole project is nearly finished, I sent the design to my tattoo artist Leon who is the first apprentice of Alex Reinke (Horikitsune aka) for testing and reviews. Basing on his tattoo profession, Leon is nicely to give me a lot of professional advices and feedbacks. It is a welcome design for him as he has the same hope to spread out the Japanese traditional tattoo arts spirits. The specific design details are satisfied him for representing rightly the Horiyoshi III’s tattoo arts and spirits. However, he hopes the design can go further and show more about the cultural connotations of Japanese tradition. He said it may be more enriched but not emphasizing only the pure in the details of elements. This is a very good advice and really helpful for me to develop the project. I have made a few changes of the design base on Leon’s suggestion, but it seems need more works. I wish there is more time to enrich it more.    

To conclude, the final design project has brought me a lot of knowledge and experience in the whole design process and communicating with people. During the project running, it is surprised me that even I am the Chinese person, the communication with Chinese investors still need a lot of explanation and understanding. Because the place and environment we stay differently, it needs me to interpretate the idea in a totally different way for them. Even with such an endeavor, it can not be sure that the idea will be accepted. This problem makes me facing a tragedy that I need to start a brand new project over again. Therefore, the first thing I learnt is the control of time and the communication skills. At the following period of the design project, I start it over from the beginning, but I find it is my favourite. In despite of the profound culture base of this design subject, it also has substantial contents. It is confirmed and approved that it is right to stick closely to the profound Zen spirit of Kokoro of Horiyoshi III’s believes. The elements with such a believe keeps the whole design in communicating overall tone and quality. If it needs to be start over again, I think I will pay more attention on enriching the design in every details so that it can be more capable to represent the rich and colourful Japanese traditional tattoo arts world. 
















Bibliography

Books

Carlier, Chris. "Seek Japan: Yokohama Tattoo Museum." Seek Japan. http://www.seekjapan.jp/article/jz/856/Yokohama+Tattoo+Museum (accessed September 11, 2011).

Kitamura, Takahiro, and Katie M. Kitamura. Bushido: legacies of the Japanese tattoo. New York: Schiffer, 2000.

Kitamura, Takahiro. Tattoos of the floating world: ukiyo-e motifs in the Japanese tattoo. Amsterdam: Hotei Pub., 2003.


Internate Sources

Mathers, Cassandra. "What Is the Meaning of Color in Japanese Culture? | eHow.com." eHow.com. http://www.ehow.com/about_6658499_meaning-color-japanese-culture_.html (accessed September 13, 2011).

Reinke, Alex. "Horikitsune." HOLIFOX. http://www.holyfoxtattoos.de/holyfox/ (accessed September 11, 2011).

Reinke, Alex. "Horiyoshi the third." HOLIFOX. http://www.holyfoxtattoos.de/holyfox/ (accessed September 11, 2011).

"Less is more", Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Less_is_more, (accessed September 11, 2011).

The Design Visual Identity Guide

 

 

 

 

 

The End

Practical Strategy

Name of Club: HORI TATTOO FAMILY

Owner: Zhuo Chen
Type of Club: Nonprofit Social Activities Community
Date of plan start: 09/2011
Location:to be confirmed

Design elements:
Name
Logo
Membership Card
Business Card
Invitation
Letter Head
Fax Paper
Envelop
Seal
Flyer
Brochure
Lighter
Ashtray
Paper Cup
Paper Bag
Plastic Bag
T-Shirt 

Starting Preparation:

• Contacts Horiyoshi family for announcement and commitment;
• Contacts Horiyoshi relatively company, the Clothing & Accessories Company and the Publication company for retails ordering and comercial cooperation.
• Search and contact the famous artists and skilled freshman in asian tattoo industry, starting within Japan;
• Attends as many similar convention and events as possible for experience and industry study.

Membership principles:

• Must be 21 age and above;
• Loves Japanese traditional style tattoos;
• Respects Japanese traditional culture
• Interesting in learning cultural history and spiritual meaning;
• Aspire Japanese aesthetic spirit;
• Follows the Zen spirit, specially believes in loyalty, dutifulness, egolessness, and freedom;
• Anual membership fee £30, excluding the specific donation events. 

Organization rules:

• Joining base on personal wills and interests;
• Guarantees no less than one event will be hold in each season;
• Events attending depends on member’s own wish and interest, but needs to announce the absent previously;
• Every new anual main events schedule for next year will be arrange in December. 

The first year main events schedule(2012):

March          Founding Party and Introduction Presentation
May             First Japanese traditional tattoo lovers trip in London 
September   The 8th edition International London Tattoo Convention(depends dates)
December    Members’ Tattoo Works Photography Exhibition

Application: Printer, Computers. Office tools.

Predicting Funding Status:

 

Perspective:

Rising up in the western tattoo society, the perspective is to be the well-known family community that organizing different meaningful asian tattoo events and activities in the european area.

Considering the different tattoo styles existed in Asian are also outstanding as same as the European, they all have a very different aesthetic aspires in tattooing compared to the Western tattoos. To name a few, there are the Thailand style, Vietnamese style, Cambodia style, and the Chinese style, and so one. They all have very meaningful understanding of their own tradition. Therefore, it is a wilder world to explore the Asian tattoo styles. It shows a considerable perspective to further extend for the community.

Design Development


ideas exploring

Starting with the classic elements like the warrior and the temple.

 

 

However, it is not clear for representing the design object with word TATTOO. So it is abandoned.  Then by focusing on the key word TATTOO, the design comes out to combine and abstrat the lette T and L with specific tattoo images. The T figure is related to the word TATTOO and combining with the traditional Japanese tattoo background images-winds and cloud which is normally used on the shoulder. On the other side, H is refered to word Horiyoshi III which is abstracted from the figure of flash light.

 

As drawing out the idea, the flash light figure did not do well in the logo. Therefore, it is cancelled. Meanwhile, the colour Green is not only looking good and also deep meanningful for enrich the design. So the main tone is confirmed. For getting more ideas about the tone, I have tested different colours and combining settings.

 

For the reason that IREZUMI is the main and special one for Horiyoshi III's tattoo works-the full body tattoos, the word is taken into the logo at the beginning. Furthermore, I find the circular form is another good figure that can refer well to Japan, because it comes from the nation flag of Japan. Then I try to combine above objects all into the logo design.

 

 

The one above is the finished logo at the beginning of design process, and has been used in the continued design objects, as the bussiness card.

Unfortuntely, during the continued design, it seems not working well with the Logo figure everywhere. It is less and less enchantment in represting the Japanese culure. Moreover, it is not srong enough to transmit the traditional Japanese culural spirit- the Zen spirit which is suposed to be the main character of the club. Therefore, it is also abandoned even it has been to the following process.

When I return to the Zen base spirit that Horiyoshi III and his family believe in, and the tattoo art works of Horiyoshi III, I find the specific seal of Horiyoshi III's signiture. It includes the glory name of Horiyoshi III as he is the highest skilled master in traditional Japanese tattoo industry. At the first try, I keep both the seal figure and the word IREZUMI together in the logo so that it can show more traditional Japanese elements in one place. However, there are too many imformation the logo contains. It seems too complex and not abstracted enough as a professional design.

Finally, after the abstraction and simplify, the logo eventually comes to be acheived as follows:

Brief  for the Final Design Project (Final Part)

The Target Audience and The Market

Market’s Demographics & Psychographics

According to the discipline made by Alex Reinke(Horikitsune aka), it is only allow people in age above 21 to wear his works. So it does similar as Horiyoshi III. Hence, it is better to strict with the age limits on 21, for the reason that it is considered as a grown adult when  people meet this age in Japanese cultural tradition. 

Secondly, the gender will not be a crucial matter. The priority consideration should be the taste, view and the attitudes upon Horiyoshi genre and Japanese traditional tattoos.
It is important that the members within the club are truly in love with Horiyoshi genre and interesting in Japanese traditional culture. Having a open mind to welcome the different culture and tradition will make the club more international welcomed. Moreover, it needs a right attitude to face the Japanese traditional spirit spreading from Horiyoshi genre’s tattoos. To respect it with a frank and humble attitude will help the club stay in clam and be communicable to the outsiders.

 

Speaking to the geography and lifestyle aspects for the members, it is not set in details. To name one specific, the club prefers the people who loves tattooing and is living a life in a good quality at the same time, and has outstanding individuality to join. Because, eventually, the club’s main goal is to spread out the peaceful, humble and frank spirits through Japanese traditional tattoos, but not the violent and impulsive motivators.  

 

*The Irezumi Club of Japan in the early 1980s.

The Competitor

In the research, there is no such similar club type as totally the same as my project tending to be. Most of them are formed in tattoo studios or workshops. The number of them is huge. Only around the old street area in London, it feels there are tons of tattoo studios here and there. In business, they are more focusing on tattooing on customers’ body by following the orders. Some of them have a group of supporters, and they may join each others for parties or activities, but not formally organized and without any serious themes or goals.

In the similarities as the club I planed, the International London Tattoo Convention will be the biggest and best example to compete with.

It is considered as a reference or a model more than a competitor for the club I launched to the International London Tattoo Convention.  As a case study, I research a lot of information about the convention as follows:

Founded: Since 2005.
Organizer: the global Tattoo Life Publication

Host:
2005, Biohazard main man Evan Seinfeld, and his wife Tera Patrick
Unknown and not clear for the years following.

Location: TOBACCO DOCK, 50 PORTERS WALK - WAPPING LONDON E1W 2SF

In 1990 the building was converted into a shopping centre which had cost £47 million to develop and was intended to create the Covent Garden of the East End but the scheme was unsuccessful and it went into administration. The property is not in a major retail area and has only moderately good public transport access.

The whole building is occasionally used for large scale corporate events such as the Vodafone and ABN AMRO 2005 annual staff 'party'. In early 2004, part of the building was used as the studios of the Channel 4 reality television show Shattered. Several after-première parties for films have been held there. Scenes in Episode 6 of 2008 BBC One drama Ashes to Ashes were filmed at Tobacco Dock.

In the first three editions of the convention, the enormous flow of visitors forced the organizers to reconsider the spaces and the first new element of 2007 edition was the new location, the event has continued to go from strength to strength. After three years at the Old Truman Brewery in Brick Lane, the convention was moved to Tobacco Dock And now, the International London Tattoo Convention has been hold here every year following.

Opening Times: always holds over three days at summer weekend  9.23-9.25, 2011
                            (previously on 11.28-11.30, 2010)

It is the seventh edition year of the International London Tattoo Convention being hold at Tobacco Dock London.

Organized: Mainly by stalls for different purpose, services like studio tattooing use, clothes retails, collection sale, bars and performances. 

Visitors:
It is said that there are more than 20,000 visitors for the 2009 and 2010 convention with increasing media interest.

The press:
Since 2005 the press released a big page introducing the event of tattoo convention including the Independent, the Times, the press pays more and more concern about the every year convention nowadays.

Sponsor: Most of sponsors come from the specific magazines or publications focusing on tattoo realm, the relative retailers, independent company, communities.

Posters releasted:

2005

 

2006

 

2007

 

2008

 

2009

 

2010

 

2011

Analysis and Final Conclusion:

In the scale of the convention, it is not good for a new born club to compete with. The club focus on the Horiyoshi’s adherents but not as wide as the Intentional London Tattoo Convention. However, it is good for the club to avoid the difficulties as the convention will face, like the massive organization demands from not only the visitors but also the participators. Furthermore, making sure so many high skills tattooists to attend the events and keeping the events running itself already are all big challenges to the holder. 

Speaking the holder of the convention, it is not easy to find out. At the beginning, it is only found once in the press that it was hosted by Evan Seinfeld and his wife Tera Patrick at the first edition of the convention. Nothing more commons comes out about the institution holding the convention until it is found from the source of the official face-book page. Obviously, this independent publication holder concerns well on the convention better than advertising for its own publication. Eventually, it is well known by this convention as it is its primary promoter.

Considering the theme of the convention, it is different year by year, but mainly participates by the artists from Europe area. Only a few of Japanese and Chinese studios are invited. Therefore, the priority style is the european in the convention, even though there are more and more oversea tattoo studios got a chance to join. Furthermore, the lack of knowledge about the traditional cultual believes and understandings have limited the convention extending to the Asian tattoo art world. This will be the opportunity for this club to rise up in Europe with its particular asian personality.

Hence, the International London Tattoo Convention has its own advantages, however at the same time it also has its disadvantages for its big scale and limited focused areas. My club can use the small but flexible scale of community form to stand up in UK, and gain a good place in the european tattoo society with its special asian characters.