Design Ah!

NHK Educational Corporation for NHK (Japanese Broadcasting Corporation)

Design Ah! is designed to teach children to perceive objects and ideas from different perspectives, thereby inspiring creative thinking. Its short segments are minimalist and often mesmerizing. One is a stop-action parade of household and office chairs. Another segment deconstructs a truck, with each part shown for the unique design it is. In yet another, the images on the pages of a comic book gradually skitter and slink away, leaving the original blank sheet. Most segments are wordless. In one exception, industrial designer Ichiro Iwasaki advises budding designers: “Choose a flower and make it your own.” The wisdom is Zen, the images sensational, the concepts deceptively simple. For articulating fundamentals of design and refreshing viewers’ eyes, Design Ah! receives a Peabody Award.

PRIMARY PRODUCTION CREDITS

Executive Producers: Naohiko Kuroda, Satoshi Otani. Producer: Takaharu Hatori. Director: Masakazu Satoh. Cast: Ai Makino. Additional Voices: Waraimeshi. Computer Graphics/Animation: Mizuhiro, Tomohiro Okazaki, Yosuke Abe, Soichiro Hiramoto. Lettering Design: Ken Okamoto. Production Supervisor: Yugo Nakamura. Production Manager: Taku Satoh. Special Thanks: TYO Inc. MONSTER Division.