The project
Produced as a series of eight for Lyreco Denmark, this award went to winners whose prize was a trip to Japan. It comes from the same annual recognition programme as the Morocco series, in a different year and with a different destination.
The approach
Japan has one image that almost everyone recognises immediately, which is Hokusai's The Great Wave off Kanagawa. The design borrows its structure rather than copying the print: a curling wave in the foreground, a flat red sun behind. Splitting those two elements onto separate layers is what gives the piece depth, and it is also what makes the whole thing buildable from flat sheet.
How it was made
The wave is built from layers of laser cut acrylic in several blues, stacked at different depths so the curl reads three dimensionally, with a red disc set behind it representing the Japanese sun. A white vinyl sticker is applied to each wave layer to mark the foam at the crest, which adds that detail without needing another cut component. The base is solid oak, engraved individually for each recipient. The finished award stands around 20 cm tall.
Where the same approach works
Layering flat sheet is how a two dimensional process produces something with real depth, and it scales across a series without any tooling at all. The same approach suits themed award series, incentive and recognition programmes, and short run pieces where every one has to be personalised.
