Poster Design: Spirits of Place
The black frame evokes a memorial portrait, while my fingerprints mark my presence. The left side reflects the past, the right, uniform lines, the future, highlighting identity fading into homogenisation over time.
Tomo Sugiyama
Graphic Arts (MA) 2025
Hello! I’m a Japanese graphic artist and designer, and my work is all about memory, culture, and the stories that shape who we are. My latest film, Spirits of Place, explores my family’s ryokan (traditional inn) in Shizuoka, weaving together archives, animation, and sound to reflect on how it has endured across generations.
The project is personal, but it also speaks to something bigger, the pressures faced by small, family-run businesses and what we lose when local places disappear. I want my work to preserve these human connections, traditions, and atmospheres, using design to keep them alive for future generations.
I’m looking forward to working with museums, cultural institutions, education, and creative teams that value heritage-based storytelling, bringing together design, animation, and film to share meaningful stories across cultures.
tomoharu0210@gmail.com https://tomoharu0210a95f.myportfolio.com/tomoharu-sugiyama →
- Advertising
- Animation
- Communication
- Degree Show
- Design
- Digital
- Documentary
- Film
- Graphic Design
- history
- Storytelling
- Traditional
Spirits of Place
The film explores memory, traditions, and the quiet spirit of small, family-run places that endure across generations.
RYUGURYOKAN: FROM ASHES TO LEGACY
This film explores my family's business journey, from its beginnings after the Shizuoka great fire to the present, using the symbolism of flowers to connect memory, identity, and family roots.
