Bronze Graphics, Illustration and Visual Communication Design · 2022
Integration Disaster Prevention Pictogram
by Noriaki Mori
- A' Design Award 2022 Bronze Winner in Graphics, Illustration and Visual Communication Design
- Awarded April 15, 2022
- CLIENT: Innos Tokyo
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 16,720
- Verification code D55CCEE658 · Verify this award
About Integration Disaster Prevention Pictogram
This pictogram is an integrated display of the information required in the event of a tsunami disaster. Anyone can check the hazard map of the area by reading the QR code displayed with the tsunami arrival wave height display on a smartphone. At first glance, one action by smartphone realizes a mechanism to promote the next action. The idea is based on actual experiences such as earthquakes and tsunamis caused by it, and is based on the unique idea of Japan, which can be said to be a disaster-prone country. They propose a globally unified pictogram that was unlikely before.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- This pictogram is an integrated display of the information necessary for tsunami disaster countermeasures.
You can check the height above sea level along with the predicted wave height of the arrival of the tsunami.
In addition, you can check the hazard map of the area by reading the QR code displayed together in the pictogram. - Dimensions & Packaging
- Since it can be expressed on any printing or display device, the size can be set in any way.
When writing on utility poles in Japan, it is desirable to write in the vertical and horizontal directions of about 300 mm. - Tags
- Integrated display, Predicted maximum tsunami wave height, Hazard map, QR code
- Production Technology
- As a result of examining the displays of all local governments, it was found that they were only displayed above sea level, and that none of them displayed the maximum wave height of the tsunami, and that the display colors were not unified at all.
Therefore, the display color is the same as the blue color used for road display, which is unified by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. - Design Challenge
- We focused on how to express it concisely and clearly.
At a glance, we were able to understand the risk meeting of the place we are now, and we were enthusiastic about realising a mechanism to encourage the next action with one action. - Project Duration
- The project started in Tokyo in 2012, entered the business design award sponsored by Tokyo in 2013, and is still promoting to each local government.
- Operation Flow
- You can know the maximum predicted tsunami wave height of your current location in 3 stages of 1 meter or more, 3 meters or more and 5 meters or more, and you can also obtain a hazard pap by reading the QR code.
As a result, it is possible to instantly confirm where to evacuate. - Research
- This is a pictogram proposal that embodies the linked display of the predicted maximum wave height and hazard map for tsunamis, which no one had ever wondered if it did not exist.
It was unlikely, but it is actually a very important information display. - Inspiration
- Japan has experienced many tsunami damages caused by the earthquake. However, the official arrival wave height and hazard map for the tsunami in the area have not been prepared.
In addition, the display that evokes the tsunami is not unified by local governments.This is a universal reality.
We developed this integrated pictogram to return to the world where it is common for information needed in an emergency to be clear on a daily basis. - Image Credits
- Image #1 : Noriaki Mori, Image #2 : Noriaki Mori, Image #3 : Noriaki Mori, Image #4 : Noriaki Mori
- Patents
- Design registered : 1497145
Colors of Integration Disaster Prevention Pictogram
Design Interview about Integration Disaster Prevention Pictogram
The concept that no one is left behind.
To fulfill the mission of equalizing safety disparities.
To fulfill the mission of equalizing safety disparities.
Even in Japan, We have witnessed the disparate graphic designs, pictograms, and icons related to the colors and shapes of sea level displays of local governments, and the reality that disaster displays have not been clearly established.
I thought that it should be integrated and unified not only in Japan but also in the world.
I thought that it should be integrated and unified not only in Japan but also in the world.
I will strongly appeal to relevant government agencies, local governments, and members of the Diet, including receiving a prestigious award, and will lead to activities that improve society.
About 2 months.
Originally, I entered the Business Design Awards in Tokyo in order to let non-designer classmates from the Graduate School of Adults experience entry into design competitions and winning experiences.
However, because I discovered a social issue, I devised this important concept, conducted research and discussions with the members, and directed all the final designs.
After that, with the aim of enacting this pictogram on my own, I have been doing lobbying and sales activities for members of parliament and the heads of local governments in small increments alongside other duties.
However, because I discovered a social issue, I devised this important concept, conducted research and discussions with the members, and directed all the final designs.
After that, with the aim of enacting this pictogram on my own, I have been doing lobbying and sales activities for members of parliament and the heads of local governments in small increments alongside other duties.
I would like to proceed with the license sales contract for the production rights.
I want people from all over the world, including Japan, to take the next action, such as how safe this place is at first glance, and where to evacuate by accessing the hazard map immediately.
I have an Italian boss who once served.
He is a philosopher and a manager, but he has a deep knowledge of design and I learned a lot.
He is a philosopher and a manager, but he has a deep knowledge of design and I learned a lot.
Not only in Japan, but all men and women of all ages in the world.
Anyone can understand at a glance how to prepare for water-related disasters such as tsunamis and floods.
I witnessed the current situation where the sea level display is not unified by the local government, and the current situation where the risk of flooding of the land is not clear, and I strongly thought that the necessary information should be integrated into one simple pictogram.
I wanted to convey the meaning of the integration in one word.
I wanted to convey the meaning of the integration in one word.
Adobe Creative Cloud and Microsoft PowerPoint.
I am trying to unify by redesigning important signs that are made separately in the world.
Initially, I was a classmate at a graduate school for working adults. Not all were experts.
However, after that, I proposed this pictogram to the director of the disaster prevention research institute and the head of the local government who actually experienced a big earthquake on the third day of his inauguration and took the lead in the restoration, and lobbying is continuing.
However, after that, I proposed this pictogram to the director of the disaster prevention research institute and the head of the local government who actually experienced a big earthquake on the third day of his inauguration and took the lead in the restoration, and lobbying is continuing.
It is a combination of the QR code technology invented in Japan and the easy-to-understand classification of tsunami and flood wave heights and water levels into three categories, such as the antenna reception sensitivity of smartphones. With the worldwide spread of QR codes released free of charge, it is a format that anyone in the world can use anytime, anywhere by utilizing the technology that is commonly used as infrastructure in various situations.
I randomly investigated what the current state of sea level display in Japan is, and how the risk of tsunami and flood damage is displayed.
There were no particular technical challenges.
On the other hand, it is not always possible to find the sea level display of the area just by searching on the Internet.
Therefore, every time I visited various parts of Japan, I was looking for an altitude display.
On the other hand, it is not always possible to find the sea level display of the area just by searching on the Internet.
Therefore, every time I visited various parts of Japan, I was looking for an altitude display.
I wanted to raise awareness of the dangers of tsunamis and floods not only in Japan but around the world.
I also thought it was necessary to enter an international competition in order to propose unification in this pictogram.
In a sense this is my mission.
I also thought it was necessary to enter an international competition in order to propose unification in this pictogram.
In a sense this is my mission.
I was keenly aware that the idea of universal design has not yet spread to the world.
I strongly realize that it is necessary to develop an even more concise, easy-to-understand and easy-to-use infrastructure in order to support elderly people, people with disabilities, and foreigners if the display is difficult to understand even for healthy people. It became like.
I strongly realize that it is necessary to develop an even more concise, easy-to-understand and easy-to-use infrastructure in order to support elderly people, people with disabilities, and foreigners if the display is difficult to understand even for healthy people. It became like.
Everyone in the world should be more aware of natural disasters and work diligently.
Grand Interview about Integration Disaster Prevention Pictogram
The biggest trigger was the Great East Japan Earthquake that occurred in 2011. I noticed that in Tokyo, which has areas at zero meters above sea level and areas that are several meters above sea level, the design and color used to indicate sea level varies from one local government to another.When we looked at sea level indications across Japan after the earthquake, we found that not a single one had the same design. Therefore, we came up with the idea of standardizing sea level indications across Japan, and creating a display system that clearly classifies the expected maximum wave heights of floods and tsunamis in a given area into three levels: 1m or more, 3m or more, and 5m or more. In addition, we came up with the idea of using QR codes to clearly integrate links to flood hazard maps, which had been developed all over Japan after the earthquake.
This color complies with the colors designated by the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.Green is used for emergency exits and to indicate evacuation, but the purpose of the Integrated Disaster Prevention Pictogram is to enable people to instantly recognize the current situation in the area on a daily basis, even before that.Therefore, we designed it so that it can be seamlessly incorporated into road signs all over Japan in the future, not just for pedestrians. This will allow anyone to know the current situation and preparations in the area, along with the sea level indications that vary all over Japan. Furthermore, we have taken care to consider the landscape of each area.
Many people have seen tsunami footage, but from the time a tsunami occurs until it reaches us, every second counts. In such a situation, there are only a limited number of graphic elements that can be instantly recognized. In reality, it has been verified that a person's feet can be swept away even with water only 30 centimeters below the knee, but it still made us realize how important it is to recognize the expected scale of tsunamis and floods at a glance, and this influenced our development.
Winning the A' Design Award has resulted in the pictogram being translated and promoted in over 100 languages, which will define the problem in countries around the world that are prone to earthquakes, raise people's interest in the issue, and lead to new initiatives. We believe that the adoption of this pictogram overseas will also lead to increased shared awareness around the world.
Disasters such as floods and tsunamis are greatly affected by sea level. In particular, coastal areas and riverside areas have almost no elevation difference from the water level, and in some cases, areas are lower than sea level. Even in Tokyo, the colors and designs of sea level indications for each municipality were different, so we were faced with the task of investigating whether or not sea level indications were present in municipalities across Japan, and to what extent the colors and designs differed.In addition, figuring out how to put together a clear indication that anyone could instantly recognize was a major challenge in itself.
Since the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, disaster prevention applications for smartphones have been slowly emerging. Given this historical background, we were conscious from the beginning of development of the app to cover not only signs and road signs, but also public environments such as websites and smartphone applications, as well as the mobile application environment. We had also been paying attention to the future potential and applicability of QR codes for some time, and we were convinced that the process of integrating these would be a design that would solve these social issues.
To determine the 300mm size that should be adopted for utility poles, we actually created a full-scale mockup and conducted simulations in the city.The size was decided based on a comprehensive consideration of factors such as whether the sign can be recognized by pedestrians from a distance of 15m and whether the QR code on the hazard map can be read. The first goal was to solve a social issue by targeting pedestrians, who are the closest to us. This can also be reflected in signs that can be recognized by pedestrians while protecting the scenery, not only on utility poles, but also on other signs, notices, and facilities related to public transportation. It will be necessary to determine the optimal size for road signs for automobiles through field surveys and demonstration experiments in the future.
Local governments and emergency response organizations did not initially pay attention to the Integrated Disaster Prevention Pictograms, nor did they have any awareness or concept of the need for them. Each local government started developing its own sea level display, and hastily put them to use in their own local governments. Rather, they gave us feedback that they should have known about the Integrated Disaster Prevention Pictograms before using their own sea level displays. In response to this, we felt the need to lobby and petition at the administrative level, such as to members of the Diet, and have begun to take action.
Until now, there were no signs or warning signs for floods or tsunamis. On the other hand, sea level indications were widespread in local governments across the country, although the colors and designs varied. However, the sea level indications alone did not encourage further action. We realized that this was the biggest problem, which led to our unique approach.How high above sea level are you currently at? How high the waves could potentially be at this altitude? And to what area should you evacuate to in order to protect yourself from this flood? By consolidating and consolidating these three steps into one pictogram, we thought we could create an inclusive design that leaves no one behind.
Currently, the pictograms are for floods, tsunamis, and other water-related disasters, but as you know, many other natural disasters occur around the world. Based on the concept of essentiality, clarity, and effectiveness, we are planning to create pictograms for other natural disasters and have begun discussions with members from overseas. We are not limited to Japan, but will continue to think about and evolve the pictograms to make them easy to understand and communicate on a global level.