T A K U M I film poster

There is a popular theory that it takes at least 10,000 hours of focused practice for a human to become expert in any field. But in Japan, there are craftspeople who go far beyond this to reach a special kind of mastery. These people are called Takumi, and they devote 60,000 hours to their craft. That’s 8 hours a day, 240 days a year, for over 30 years. The film was all about the rise of AI and the decline of human centred craft. I thought it was interesting (and bloody lucky) that TAKUMI had AI in it too.

I was tasked with creating the TAKUMI film poster. Initially working up scamps on the mac, I worked with the brilliant British Chinese artist Wuon-Gean Ho for the rest of the project, creating everything by hand. Using traditional Japanese techniques she created 30 hand printed/carved posters for the release. A true Takumi crafts person in action. She recorded her process on her blog here.

Client: Lexus Global
Role: Design/Typography/Art Direction
Team: Marc Donaldson
Artist: Wuon-Gean Ho