Founded in 2013 by collectives from student to entrepreneur in Sumida-ku, Tokyo, Machinacademia is a non-profit providing alternative educational programs to all ages. Machinaca means downtown in Japanese so it meant to be an academic place in the town.
Sumida-ku was, at that time, an only district where there were no University among 23 special wards of Tokyo. The project aimed to make alternative places where everyone could learn and teach to each others, no matter how old they were.
Two yeas passed from the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, I had been questioning to myself how I could use my skill for something meaningful. Shoichi Sato, one of co-founders, invited me not to just create visual identity but also to be a member.
Cloud campus
Machinacademia was a platform where those who want to tell stories and who want to learn meet. Unlike traditional schools have fixed campuses, everywhere —cafes, parks, temples, or even private residences— could be.
The image graphic reflects this concept. The logo —flying campus— pops up on anywhere in the Sumida-ku, and the town rises.
The image graphic reflects this concept. The logo —flying campus— pops up on anywhere in the Sumida-ku, and the town rises.
The colorful wordmark —マチナカデミアすみだ (Machinacademia Sumida)— represents the diversity that the project stands for. The shape was inspired from paper cut-out work by child.
