Aiming to become a next-generation art director.

The goal is the expansion of the art director.
"NEWSPACE" is a free domain unbound by media or genre,
researches expressive possibilities through the combination of visual ideas,
and broadcasts product-out ideas to the world.

"NEWSPACE" is an art director initiative progressing through the monthly Dentsu Inc. News and a dedicated website.
Art Director Kazunori Kawakoshi (NEWSPACE Representative), recipient of numerous domestic and international awards including the NYADC Award and JAGDA Award, shares his vision for the project's background and future prospects.

The Experimental Field "NEWSPACE"

The evolution of digital technology and the rise of social media have significantly altered the value of media. This has led to increased opportunities to consider what roles art directors will be required to fulfill going forward.

Ten years ago, the main responsibility within a team was handling print media like posters, magazines, and newspapers. However, with the changing times, the types of expression and fields an art director should handle have changed significantly, and I believe the ability to respond flexibly is becoming essential.

While I want to continue taking pride in the role of art director and strive with print design as my foundation, I personally wanted to study different fields and acquire skills to handle various areas. It was during this time that I began a serialized project in Monthly Dentsu Tsūhō (※). This project, "NEWSPACE," started as a place for research and presentation to broaden my knowledge.

Monthly Dentsu Inc. News: A tabloid newspaper launched in 1946 as an advertising industry publication. Now published monthly in full color, it is distributed to Dentsu Inc.'s client companies and other stakeholders.
 

A place for reverse thinking: exploring monetization born from output

Art directors are fundamentally both planners and designers. They are the only professionals who can independently complete the entire process from concept to visual execution, and many also work as individual artists.

Typically, an art director's work is project-based, responding to client requests with concepts. Expressing oneself within the constraints of advertising is extremely difficult. To present what one genuinely wants to create, a space for personal activity becomes necessary.

"NEWSPACE" is an initiative where we proactively plan projects impossible within conventional advertising. Starting from the creation of expressive works, we advance research and development, exploring potential applications for business. To achieve monetization from expression, we seek out companies for collaboration based on these ideas, exploring monetization pathways.

This is the prototype of proactive art direction that "NEWSPACE" aims to achieve. I feel that pure ideas bubbling up from within have greater potential to spark innovation.

Of course, it might seem niche, ignoring societal demand, but that's all part of the experiment. However, prototypes created by professional art directors over six months or more have generated significant internal and external feedback after release, and some are beginning to develop into actual work.

Prototypes released to date

#001 "SYNCRONIZED SPACEWALK" Research on programming using crowd simulation
#002 "MATERIAL MONSTER" - Development of copyright-free CG texture characters
#003 "AR NEWSPAPER CITY" Research on new possibilities for newspapers expressed with the latest AR technology
#004 "ART PHOTOBOOK PROJECT" Publishing Project Development for the Art Photobook "Aka-san"
#005 "Virtual Human MEME" Development of a Fully CG Instagrammer Model
#006 "LOCKET NAILS" Development of a Rocket Pendant-Style Nail Art Brand
#007 "AI GRAPHIC DESIGN PROJECT" Can AI Design? Collaborative Research with Universities
#008 "ZOETROPE DRESS" Research on Fashion Design Brought to Life with Zoetropes

Projects launched last October under 'NEWSPACE' are presenting prototypes across various fields in the pages of 'Monthly Dentsu Inc. News'.

I created the initial projects #001 to #004, while #005 and beyond are handled monthly by young art directors.

For example, #002 "MATERIAL MONSTER" features original monster characters created through cutting-edge CG material technology research, with free copyright. Meanwhile, #004 "ART PHOTOBOOK PROJECT" visualizes the simple idea that babies can look like old men. This project is less about research and more a prototype focused on monetization, with plans to eventually publish it as an art photobook. Furthermore, we aim to develop "Akasan" as content for business expansion. Since everything is a prototype, the announcement is not the goal but the start. For details, please visit the special website.

The goal is to explore expressive possibilities and expand the role of the art director.

The job title "art director" actually carries a very lofty and broad meaning. Art is inherently free. If you're called an art director, I believe you should break free from the constraints of "how things should be" and become someone who can express themselves flexibly and borderlessly.

Ideally, art directors should create across film, architecture, spatial design, fashion, art, product, technology, and more—becoming sought-after professionals in diverse fields beyond advertising. In an era where business increasingly demands artistic thinking, creativity and intuition—things not derived from numbers—will become vital even in advertising.

At NEWSPACE, we want to create an environment that supports moving beyond project-based thinking to become self-starters who actively communicate with the world. If we can establish several business model examples that lead to monetization, we can tackle even more ambitious projects. We aim to create a spiral that continuously expands our scope of activity. We envision expanding our activities in the future, such as a collective of proactive art directors creating content together.

We will continue to release new expressions one after another. Companies interested in our work, please contact us at ぜひこちらinfo@newspace.galleryまでご連絡よろしくお願いします. Stay tuned for future developments.