SAKURAKO OKABE
Design for social innovation
2012
The Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, did Tohoku area great damage. One year later, I took the social innovation design class and went to Tohoku area to discover the local problems and propose innovative solutions using design skills.
 Children running around temporary housings |  “Kyotokumaru 18”, a gigantic fishing vessel washed ashore by the tsunami. |  A damaged house |
|---|---|---|
 Damaged cars are piled up |  One of damaged area |  A damaged house |
Most of the students including me did not know the actual situation of Tohoku at that time. It was still very difficult - we realized our powerlessness when we faced with the serious condition there.
However, we could see the local people tried to be cheerful, and even encouraged us. We spent definitely amazing time in Tohoku - discovered number of attractions such as delicious food, beautiful scenery, and the warm hearts and thoughtfulness of local people. Also, we gradually found what they really want us to do during the field research - they seriously wanted people to come to Tohoku as before. Then we decided to create a tool which connects Tohoku and other areas in Japan.
Finally, decided to create a driving map which dispels negative public image of Tohoku that has been created after the earthquake, and introduces Tohoku as an attractive place where people want to go. We set youth as the main target and this driving map can be used as a communication tool among couples. The booklet is distributed in rest areas on highways, driving schools and so on.
 Formt |  Back |  A description about the map |
|---|---|---|
 Maturity test for couple |  A simple map of Tohoku(Miyagi) |  The main contents |
For a long time, we struggled to find what we could do for Tohoku. Only when we shifted our thinking to “solutions only we can design” did our concept started to take shape. Many young people in Japan look away from the problems in the disaster stricken area. It is very difficult to persuade them
to change their attitude. In the end, being young, passionate and living outside of Tohoku became our strength in solving this task with a fresh approach because we understand our own generation better than anyone else.