Responses by Shhh.

Background: SOIL is an initiative led by the Japan Performing Arts Solidarity Network to promote Japanese performing arts on a global scale. It supports the visibility and international expansion of Japan’s diverse theater scene while fostering cross-cultural exchange and professional growth in the performing arts sector.

Design core: The website builds on the visual structure of the SOIL logo, where the intersecting lines symbolize the cultivation of Japanese performing arts. By extending this line-based motif across the interface, we created an experience that makes the content feel progressively cultivated.

Challenges: To accommodate the wide variety of productions SOIL works with, from independent theater companies to long-established performing arts organizations, we conducted extensive wireframe prototyping to develop an information architecture that functions effectively for any type of work.

Favorite details: A diverse range of line expressions and animations drives the user’s browsing experience. We believe that a major strength of the visual design lies in how it demonstrates the remarkable variety of expressions that can be achieved using lines alone.

Technology: The backend is built on WordPress, primarily using custom fields provided by the Advanced Custom Fields PRO plugin. The contact form is implemented with Contact Form 7.

The WordPress theme template was coded using Vite. For smooth scrolling effects, we used Lenis, while Splide was applied for the slider. Other animations were custom-built by combining JavaScript and CSS.