Case Study: Shiseido My Crayon Project
By James Herring on Friday, June 14, 2019
In Japan, one color—”hada-iro,” or “skin color”— still is regarded as the default color for people.
In schools small differences in skin-tone are noticed, with kids of mixed-race being seen as outsiders despite being Japanese.
Cosmetics company Shiseido set out to educate children that every skin tone is unique with help from an unlikely champion: a crayon.
A range of crayons was customised to the skin tones of different school children.
Each crayon named after the individual child.
A film introduced the idea, inviting schools to participate in sessions the combined art and ethics classes.
Children draw themselves and each other.
With just a box of crayons Shiseido showed kids the importance of respecting the differences of others.
Agency: R/GA (Tokyo, Japan)
Shiseido My Crayon Project