Made in Fukushima

A book made of rice straw harvested from decontaminated fields. Book Design for METER Group including editorial design, data visualization and infographics.

Introduction

When a tsunami hit the Fukushima Daiichi Power Plant on March 11th in 2011 and led to a nuclear meltdown, the entire world watched in a state of shock. As a result of the catastrophe, more than 25,000 hectares of farmland were contaminated. The ongoing official decontamination process removes the fertile yet contaminated topsoil. This produces huge amounts of radioactive waste and makes farming impossible — another devastating blow to the region.

Challenge

A team of environmental scientists has developed a sustainable decontamination method that preserves fertile soil. It reduces the amount of radioactive waste by 95% and enables farmers to grow perfectly safe rice again. However, although the rice passes strict tests, consumers are unwilling to buy it – because stigma outweighs scientific truth.

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Approach

In an effort to sow understanding among consumers, Moby Digg turned science into something tangible. Alongside paper manufacturers from Fukushima and Gmund Papier, the Moby Digg digital design agency developed a comprehensive book design concept for Meter Group that incorporates the paper made of rice straw from the decontaminated fields.

Outcome

The Moby Digg design team used this paper to print a book that tells the story of the decontamination, the farmers and their products — using photography, interviews, background information and data visualization. The infographics are based on scientific data. Using code, Moby Digg transformed this data into easy to understand and compelling output.

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Team

Creative Direction & Concept: Alex Schill – Chief Creative Officer, Serviceplan Group · Franz Röppischer – Creative Director, Serviceplan Innovation · Lorenz Langgartner – Creative Director, Serviceplan Innovation · Saurabh Kakade – Creative Producer, Serviceplan Innovation · Eduardo Alvarez – Art Director, Serviceplan Innovation · Carolina Soto – Junior Copywriter, Serviceplan Innovation

Fotography & Concept: Nick Frank – Photographer

Design: Maximilian Heitsch – Creative Director, Moby Digg · Gabriela Baka – Lead Designer, Moby Digg · Sebastian Haiss – Information Designer, Moby Digg · Ricardo Abbaszadeh – Designer, Moby Digg

Client: Dr. Colin Campbell – VP Environment, METER Group · Christian Hertel – VP Marketing, METER Group · Scott Campbell – CEO, METER Group · Kirsten Ralph – Marketing Manager, METER Group · Julia Mumford – Marketing Manager, METER Group · Kersten Campbell – Marketing, METER Group · Dr. Masaru Mizoguchi – Head of Global Agricultural Sciences, The University of Tokyo · Yoichi Tao – President, Fukushima Saisei

Production: Robert Kaminski – Head of Print Production, Serviceplan Solutions · Quentin Lichtblau – Writer, Freelance · Johannes Maierbacher – Editor, Albert Coon · Andreas Wolf – DoP, Albert Coon · Rumi Tominaga – Producer, Freelance · Ivan Kovac – Cinematographer, Freelance · Yuta Matthew Kato – Producer, SAS – Shoot in Japan