R/GA, Marketing Agency

In a country where only 3.4% of the population is born overseas, kids grow up with little exposure to racial diversity. To help them become aware of diverse racial backgrounds from an early age, we worked with skin color expert Shiseido to reframe the meaning of ‘Hada-iro’. The only Japanese word for skin color, which 79% of the population associates with the color ‘pale peach’.

Japan is one of the most homogenous societies on the planet and, as a result, many Japanese elementary school children grow up unaware of racial diversity. As Japanese values and culture have become more diverse, the importance of respecting and celebrating each other’s differences has become more important.

Together with Shiseido, we launched My Crayon Project, a way to educate children about the beauty of skin color difference in a way they could relate to: crayons.

Partnering with elementary schools, we created a special class where Shiseido scientists scanned each student’s skin to make a unique crayon of the same color, named after the student. The kids used their crayons to draw self-portraits, then swapped crayons and drew each other. From discovering the range of crayons, to making the drawings, to seeing all their portraits together on the wall, participating children experienced the beauty of diversity in a tangible and fun way.

With the help of a crayon, children came to understand that skin tones are as unique as each of us, and that everyone has their own ‘Hada-iro’.