Coffee Joe Banks by Akira Yoshimura
Here you go—the first of nine finalists in the Gift for Life “Make Change” competition, inviting designers to re-imagine the iconic piggy bank in new and creative ways:
The Coffee Joe Banks series by Japanese product designer Akira Yoshimura is a collection of flat, precision-cut paper cards meticulously engineered to transform into whimsical three-dimensional change collectors. The petite size accommodates just enough change for a cup of “joe.” Banks are available in two sizes, and in two characters, a bunny and a lion. Akira, a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, is a freelance designer in New York City.
Finalists’ designs will be displayed in the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center’s Crystal Palace lobby during the summer 2010 NYIGF. Two awards (a “Peoples’ Choice Award” based on voting by market participants, and a “Designer Distinction Award” as determined by a panel of professional designers – Mark Blackwell, Sandy Chilewich and Evette Rios) will be presented.
Proceeds from the competition will benefit the charitable efforts of Gift For Life and its sole beneficiary, DIFFA: Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS, one of the largest funders of HIV/AIDS service and education programs in the U.S. Since its founding in 1984, DIFFA has mobilized the resources of the design communities to provide more than $38 million to hundreds of AIDS organizations nationwide. For more info about DIFFA, click the “About GFL” tab at the top of this page.
