Idea 415. Design for Broadcast and Streaming - Weaving Visual Expression with Objects and Experiences

Since the late 2010s, livestreaming culture driven by VTubers and streamers has expanded rapidly, developing a distinctive visual culture of its own. From character designs and logotypes to stream layouts, thumbnails, and event graphics, the diverse forms of expression emerging from this culture shape streamers’ identities and activities while continuing to evolve through their relationships with fans.

This feature showcases 18 creators working in livestreaming, introducing their work and the creative processes behind it. It explores the ideas and techniques that inform design for VTubers and streamers. Alongside these profiles are essays examining the fandoms and communities that sustain livestreaming culture, as well as the economic landscape of the VTuber industry. Together, they document the current state of livestreaming design, where objects and experiences intersect in digital spaces to give rise to new forms of visual expression.

Direction by Toshinobu Nagata and IDEA
Design by LABORATORIES (Kensaku Kato, Sakura Koizumi, Sae Kamata)
Photography by Satoshi Aoyagi
Translation by Duncan Brotherton, Fraze Craze Inc.