Have humans really evolved since their origins?
Do Wacom’s technology and tools really contribute to human creativity?
These two questions were the themes of Connected Ink 2022, which was held in November 2022 and took place over the course of two weeks in Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai, Dusseldorf and Portland. Due to the situation of the pandemic, many members were finally able to meet in person after some time had passed. Here are a few sessions from Connected Ink 2022 in Tokyo that reflected on these loaded questions.
*Connected Ink is an event that has been organized by Wacom since 2016 with the quest to explore new directions in art, human expression, learning and the technologies that support them. The theme is always focused on the topic of Creative Chaos, while defining different key questions during each event started in 2020.
“Yuify” – Preserving and conveying the evidence of creators' creations and their stories
Wacom Yuify is a technology that allows artists and their works to record the proof, trajectory and story of their creations. This technology was developed to add new and unique value to artworks that were created with the utmost care and passion. Yuify is able to protect the artist's rights and pieces of artwork by embedding IDs and micro-marks directly into a piece, proving who created it. Along with the evolution of technology, the project team talked about their desire to preserve the warmth in art pieces that are created by humans. This was one of the sessions in which the two big questions were discussed in depth. The speakers internalized the questions, delved into them as if their own and elaborated upon them to take the talk into a new dimension.
Will technology help family connections evolve?
mui Lab and Wacom have continued co-creating after developing “Height Marking in Wood”, a product that records a family’s history in digital ink. At Connected Ink 2022, "muihaus." was unveiled for the first time, as a smart home that fosters family bonding beyond time and space. The words inscribed on the wood with digital ink by family members were accumulated and tied to their birthdays, anniversaries and other important dates, allowing each home to share family memories together. For this project, discussing the importance of having marginal space in technology and improving accuracy was the main topic of conversation. What is the significance of marginal space? Marginal space stimulates freedom and creativity, it may even lead to the discovery of new ways for humans to interact with technology.
Have humans really evolved?
This session discussed the different ways AI and humans (co)create. To confront the topic from various angles, speakers from different walks of life, such as a musician, a creator, a thinker, a brain scientist and an AI engineer were invited. AI is capable of learning at a speed that humans cannot, but when it comes to creation, there are still many things AI cannot do. Brain wave research has shown that alpha waves (the wavelength of relaxation) appear in the human brain when creating. They say that creators have a moment of immersion in which they want to draw even if it means cutting back on sleep. This is one of the major desires of the creative process. So the question remains: Have humans really evolved? During the final session of the series, NEO IHATOV, a magic lantern tells a story about life on the stage accompanied by a string quartet, expressing an ideal world built by a subatomic computer.
What happens here is everything
The special world of Connected Ink 2022, which emerged from two powerful questions, creates a sweet sanctuary protected by a magic spell according to CEO and President, Nobu Ide. It is a place where emotions, domains, attributes and even the wonders of the world and people are all accepted.
Are we moving forward?
Is there a point to any of us?
There is no right or wrong answer about success or failure at Connected Ink. We believe this is summed up perfectly in Nobu’s words, "What happens here is everything.”
At Connected Ink 2023, we will explore our fundamental values and what we cherish through the chosen theme, "Back to the Forest”.
* "We will meet again, in the forest” by Satoru Kobayashi
Wacom Canada has been involved with the "CREATE Program" at Sisler High School as a partner to support students who want to embark on career paths in the creative industry.
The 'Our Sparks.' pages showcases community creators whose works inspire and collaborate with us. This time features Arian Rahmatzai's artwork, a German talent who interned at Wacom.
The aspiration of children who dream of becoming creators is what ignites our team members’ enthusiasm and drives many of our initiatives. One such initiative involved teaming up with an animation workshop in Kinko Town, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan.
Wacom Yuify is an innovative service being developed to authenticate creators' works by embedding invisible micro-marks into artworks and, therefore, addressing unique needs across various regions and cultures.
Lannie Zhang, the only product manager in the Ink Division in China, took the time to talk to us about the initiatives planned to increase awareness and promote the use of digital ink technology.
We would like to introduce the artworks by artists in Oiso Town, Kanagawa, Japan, where we have been working together to support the writing/drawing initiative.
The Wacom Experience Center Portland was created for people to interact with the creative community in the city. We took a look back at its growth with Megan Davis, who has been playing an energetic role there.
Connected Ink 2022 opened with two key questions. Let’s take a look back at some of the sessions in Tokyo that explored them.
Read MoreWe would like to introduce the artworks by artists in Oiso Town, Kanagawa, Japan, where we have been working together to support the writing/drawing initiative.
Read MoreThe partnership with Oiso Town has developed into a city-wide initiative. We spoke with Tadakuni Tsubota of the Creative BU Retail Partnership about this initiative.
How do team members see Connected Ink? The next team member is Yohei Himori who is involved in the planning and operation of Connected Ink together with Heidi.
How do team members see Connected Ink? The first team member is Heidi Wang who has played a key role in the planning and operations when it all began in 2016.
In collaboration with Heralbony Inc. and the General Incorporated Association, Connected Ink Village, Wacom launched a new initiative called "Call & Response” in September 2021.
Here’s a look back at the opening and finale of the nearly 70 sessions held that day and reflect upon what has happened since Connected Ink 2021.
Our sparks meet constantly changing situations, unexpected challenges, and new opportunities. We called on our team members again to show how they see their spark in the world of today and the future.
Connected Ink 2020 was the beginning of a new commitment and challenge for Wacom to continue asking those eternal questions that always play in our minds.
"Stage KOPPA" was created as a stage for Connected Ink 2020. It is a stage that changes its shape and role in response to different situations while connecting the various stories that occur there.
Our sparks meet constantly changing situations, unexpected challenges, and new opportunities. We called on our team members again to show how they see their spark in the world of today and the future.
We had an internal art contest for our Social Initiatives. Let us share the existence of the spark in our team members’ hearts with their artworks.
Yoshinori Mita, a team member of Japan held an online drawing class together with FC KAZO and illustrator Suiiro to provide something fun for elementary school children to do during the COVID-19 stay-at-home period.
As an official partner, Wacom supports FC KAZO, a soccer club in Kazo City, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. We’re excited to introduce our new initiatives with this inspiring club.
We had an internal art contest for our Social Initiatives. Let us share the existence of the spark in our team members’ hearts with their artworks.
Our team members in Germany organized an online workshop “Young Wacom” for the children while schools were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Alex Duffey from our Americas Support team established a new program to support artists. We asked him about a story with Ms. Devon Bragg, the artist who inspired him to establish this program.
KOPPA began in April 2019. Tamotsu wanted to make something that can be used again after an exhibition. We asked Team KOPPA about their thoughts.
We put it together ourselves, set it up, put it back, then travel together again. The Traveling KOPPA, our new display furniture came to be.
KOPPA started out as a challenge: Tamotsu Ito, an architect from Japan, wanted to utilize leftover building materials. Our meeting was pure happenstance.
We had an internal art contest for our Social Initiatives. Let us share the existence of the spark in our team members’ hearts with their artworks.
We gave a marketing lecture for students who are learning to be engineers at the National Institute of Technology Tokyo College.
Every year, we take pen tablets that have been sitting in our warehouse and gift them to high school clubs and winners of high school art competitions to help students create digital contents.
"AI Ink for Education" was developed to capture eye movement information and pen movements while learning, in order to ascertain the characteristics of learning by each student and to create an educational environment suited to each student.
Yoana Simeonova, a software designer working in Bulgaria, introduced Wacom Intuos in a school to make children's IT classes more fun.