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# Website # Branding # Service Industry

From an atelier in Ichinomiya to the world: An online museum supporting 1,000 works by contemporary artists.

From an atelier in Ichinomiya to the world: An online museum supporting 1,000 works by contemporary artists.

In a studio in Ichinomiya, a photographer continued to click the shutter.

The director in charge was waiting beside them for a particular scene. Mr. Mitsuhiro Fuwa and Ms. Kyoko, who supports production and management, were sitting side by side on the sofa. At that point, it wasn't clear whether the photos would be used on the website. As you shoot like this, there are moments when you think, "This is a great photo!" The space around the sofa was one of those moments. "I thought it would be a photo that conveys something without needing any explanation," he recalls.

Mr. Fuwa, after a period of suffering where he lost his sense of self while constantly meeting the expectations of others as a consultant, transformed into a contemporary artist. For the director who had witnessed this transformation firsthand, this project held meaning beyond mere work.

Case Summary

Customer Name

Artwise Co., Ltd.

Project Details

Website creation, branding

Purpose

Online art museum (artwork archive), information dissemination and visitor attraction, multilingual support

Situation

Establishing independence and a brand as a contemporary artist.
Starting from scratch with no website or official materials, we create a customer acquisition base that doesn't rely on referrals.

Production period

3 months

Official website of MICHIHIRO FUWA

https://www.artwise.co.jp/

Flow of cases

STEP

01 Task

Customer's challenge

I had something I wanted to deliver. But I had nowhere to deliver it.

Even though I wanted to introduce them, I didn't have anything to give them.

When the project began, Ms. Fuwa had no website or official materials other than a collection of her homemade works. As a result, almost all of her requests came through referrals from acquaintances, and her existence had not yet reached anyone outside of that circle of acquaintances.

"Even if we wanted to introduce Mr. Fuwa, we have nothing to offer him." These were the words of those who had commissioned Mr. Fuwa to create paintings. The first thing we faced was this fundamental void.

Even if you choose based on the art style, you won't get to the essence.

That wasn't the only problem.

Even if people become aware of his work, if they choose it based solely on the colors, style, or how well it fits with the display location, the core value that Mr. Fuwa offers will not be conveyed. What Mr. Fuwa offers is not just a "painting," but a series of "experiences" in which he helps customers organize, draw out, and articulate their own information through dialogue, and elevates their unique subjectivity into a work of art.

"They're not just buying a painting; they're buying an experience where they can organize their own thoughts and feelings through dialogue and have them expressed in words." If the selection process is misaligned, even if the transaction is completed, a fundamental misunderstanding will arise.

The gap between the message you want to convey and the place where you want to deliver it.

Mr. Fuwa's mission, born from his own experience of "suffering from losing his own subjectivity by conforming to others," is to "help customers regain their subjectivity." He is determined to "create 1000 commissioned works in his lifetime." There is potential for overseas expansion. Value is commensurate with the work and pricing is set accordingly.

We understood those possibilities. That's why we also painfully understood the magnitude of the loss caused by not having an official base to deliver it.

02 LH Method Strategy Development

Organize current status and challenges (Organize current status and challenges, and commit to realizing the vision)

We will place "restoring subjectivity" at the core of our branding strategy.

We abandoned the conventional approach to website design from the very beginning.

"It's neither a corporate website nor a recruitment website. How do you build a brand for a contemporary artist? We approached it as something completely different from the start," says the director in charge.

Our original framework, the "LH Method"As we carefully organized our ideals, current position, and gaps using this framework, the message we established as the core of our branding was "the restoration of subjectivity." No matter how beautiful a website we create, it's meaningless if it doesn't convey why Mr. Fuwa became an artist or what he wants to communicate. We felt we had to design a structure that conveys not just a catalog of works, but the very way Mr. Fuwa lives as a person.

Because I understand the process of career change, there are things I can do.

This decision was not based solely on analysis.

The director in charge witnessed firsthand Ms. Fuwa's transformation from a struggling consultant to a contemporary artist, seeing her expression brighten over time. "I was happy to see Ms. Fuwa becoming more talkative and appearing happier," he recalls.

The depth of that relationship allowed us to take a unique approach, not only by meeting superficial requests, but also by designing based on a fundamental understanding of Mr. Fuwa's inner worldview.

03 LH Solution Implementation Support

Solve the problem (Solve the problem with LH solution)

To capture the atmosphere of the studio and bring it directly to the web.

First, go to the studio and get a feel for the atmosphere.

Once the strategy was finalized, the director in charge headed without hesitation to Mr. Fuwa's studio in Ichinomiya City, Aichi Prefecture. He had no intention of deciding the design direction solely on paper. "I felt that we couldn't begin until I actually stood in that place and felt the atmosphere."

Silence away from the hustle and bustle of the city. The sounds of nature. The slow passage of time as light and shadow change. That "speed" that permeates the studio became the design language for the website.

Recreating the museum experience with a "natural sense of pace."

When we were incorporating what we felt on set, the one thing we absolutely eliminated was "excessive staging."

We don't use flashy, vivid colors or hectic animations. Instead, we've opted for background effects that change slowly, like clouds drifting across the sky, and a quietly moving scrolling motion. From the overall color scheme to the smallest details of the movement, we repeatedly made adjustments to create a space where you can "converse with yourself and the artwork in silence, just like when you visit an art museum."

"We focused on creating something timeless that wouldn't become outdated no matter how many years passed," says the director in charge. "If you chase trends, it will become obsolete in a few years. We decided that such things wouldn't suit Mr. Fuwa's worldview. We also implemented a multilingual automatic translation plugin at this stage, with an eye on disseminating it both domestically and internationally."

The film set was overheating, and "the one shot I absolutely had to take."

The photoshoot took place under the scorching summer sun. It was such a harsh environment that the cameras and tablets overheated, but we were able to take many wonderful photos under the blue sky. Mr. Fuwa and Ms. Kyoko prepared many bottles of cold tea, and we also had time to enjoy lunch together.

That day, the director in charge asked the photographer to take a picture of Mr. Fuwa and Ms. Kyoko sitting side-by-side on the sofa in the studio. He said it would make a good photo, regardless of whether it would be used or not.
As intended, the photo conveyed something that didn't need any explanation. It wasn't a performance or a posed shot; it was a picture that captured the everyday life of the studio as it was. The director in charge said he was simply warmed by it.

04 LH Method Execution Support

Continue to commit to achieving the vision (responding to changes in circumstances)

The creative process may have become a space for rediscovering one's own subjectivity.

The process itself became a place to reclaim one's subjectivity.

During the production process, there was a moment that the director in charge will never forget. While selecting photographs, Ms. Fuwa repeatedly and clearly expressed her opinions. "I don't really like this photo," "I really like this one." Instead of simply accepting the suggestions from the professionals, she put into words how she felt.

If it had been Mr. Fuwa in the past, when he was swayed by objectivity and had lost his own subjectivity, things might not have turned out this way. He might have suppressed his own feelings and simply accepted the opinions of experts like us. Watching Mr. Fuwa happily selecting the photos, the director in charge said he was reminded once again of the importance of having subjectivity.

"I felt that through the process of creating this website together, Ms. Fuwa was regaining her sense of perspective even more. I would be truly happy if I was able to contribute in that respect," the director in charge reflected.

Mr. Fuwa himself needs an environment that will allow him to continue to nurture the museum.

The completion of the website wasn't the finish line, but the starting line.

After delivery, we set up a CMS environment that allows Mr. Fuwa to register and update information about his works and exhibition announcements himself. We created a system that allows each piece, even those that have left his possession, to be accumulated in an online museum. This accumulation will become the map that supports his grand vision of "creating 1,000 commissioned works in his lifetime."

From my studio in Ichinomiya to the world

"I want people all over the world to know about it. I want people from all over the world to visit Ichinomiya, where her family home is located." — The website continues to quietly function as a base to give shape to Ms. Fuwa's wish.

With multilingual support, we can receive access from all over the world, and our CMS ensures that the latest information is always delivered. Mr. Fuwa's worldview, which was once only accessible through referrals, now has the potential to reach even the other side of the globe.

"I hope that one day, many people from all over the world will visit that quiet studio in Ichinomiya," the director in charge said, and behind those words, he was picturing a future far beyond the completion of the website.

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From an atelier in Ichinomiya to the world: An online museum supporting 1,000 works by contemporary artists.

Case Summary

Flow of cases

I had something I wanted to deliver. But I had nowhere to deliver it.

Even though I wanted to introduce them, I didn't have anything to give them.

Even if you choose based on the art style, you won't get to the essence.

The gap between the message you want to convey and the place where you want to deliver it.

We will place "restoring subjectivity" at the core of our branding strategy.

We abandoned the conventional approach to website design from the very beginning.

Because I understand the process of career change, there are things I can do.

To capture the atmosphere of the studio and bring it directly to the web.

First, go to the studio and get a feel for the atmosphere.

Recreating the museum experience with a "natural sense of pace."

The film set was overheating, and "the one shot I absolutely had to take."

The creative process may have become a space for rediscovering one's own subjectivity.

The process itself became a place to reclaim one's subjectivity.

Mr. Fuwa himself needs an environment that will allow him to continue to nurture the museum.

From my studio in Ichinomiya to the world

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