SOFU-GLOVE MAGAZINE
8.5 x 12 inches // 77 pages // 2007
This hybrid dictionary-magazine served as an early framing device to help organize the many concepts and observations that informed my thesis. While kawaii was among the ideas I was interested in exploring, I didn't realize it would become the subject of my case study in Cultural Transmography until after completing the project. Another focal point became soft power—an international relations theory coined by scholar Joseph Nye advocating “soft” (cultural/ideological) rather than “hard” (military) tactics of persuasion. This concept seemed especially relevant to the use of "softer" cuteness culture within the field of graphic design. To embody these characteristics I created a mascot, Sofu-Gurabu-san, a small boxing glove that appears throughout the magazine, often making commentary.
