We like to combine techniques. To the best of our knowledge, within the disciplines of design there are no hard and fast rules that keep can keep it confined to one area. Therefore, this year when the Yorokobu competition was held, it occurred to us that we should give another form of expression to the layouts that architects normally use to present their projects.

Yorokobu means “to be happy” in Japanese, and we cannot deny it: we would all love to live on the Island of Happiness. And if this island existed, what would it look like? The answer is clear to us; it would look like the word Yorokobu.

We had work on this piece with lots of patience. First, we laid it out in Adobe Illustrator. Once the type of plate had been chosen (wood in the end), we cut it with a laser and then got on with the hard and lengthy job of assembling it. The final step was to paste each layer together with great care and attention, until the Island of Happiness was complete.

For the first photo session we used acetate paper to simulate the sea, but once we had it laid out, we preferred to let the imagination run wild and we left a blank background where each of us could imagine the sea of happiness that surrounds the island.

Volkswagen was on the back cover of this month’s magazine, so we also created an island for it too, where, the whole Volkswagen family is living happily ever after.

And you? Would you like to live there?