The One Show
The One Show is the world's most prestigious award show in advertising and design. For over 50 years, the Gold Pencil has been regarded as one of the top prizes in the creative industry. The One Show has a rich legacy of honoring some of the most groundbreaking ideas, created by some of the most remarkable minds in creativity.
Learn more about The One Show 2026
One Show 2024 Design Jury
John C Jay
President of Global Creative
Uniqlo/Fast Retailing Inc.
New York, Tokyo
John C Jay currently serves as the President of Global Creative for Uniqlo and its parent company, Fast Retailing Inc. which owns fashion brands in Asia, USA and Europe. These brands include Theory and Helmut Lang.
Jay is the founder of Uniqlo's Global Creative Lab offices in Tokyo, New York, Portland and Shanghai, which oversees major international creative, strategic and innovation projects including collaborations with top fashion designers, art museums, creative institutions including Museum of Modern Art, Tate Modern, The Louvre as well as global ambassadors. He lives in New York, Portland and Tokyo and works in each office each month.
Previously, he was Co-Creative Director with Dan Wieden overseeing the international network of Wieden+Kennedy and opened the agency offices in Tokyo and Shanghai. There he was a partner of the agency and served as a trustee of the agency foundation. Jay founded the W+K Tokyo Lab, the innovative independent music label in Japan.
Prior to his agency career, Jay was the Sr. VP / Creative Director and Exec. VP / Marketing Director for Bloomingdales.
Here he helped to oversee the creation and marketing of the major country expositions, working with the most influential creators in the world as well as the Ministries of Culture, Business and Tourism throughout Europe and Asia. His work included product development, exhibitions, film documentaries and cultural exchanges.
Jay also is the founder / director of Studio J in Portland a creative consultancy studio and investor in design, hospitality, wellness, publishing and art projects. New ventures will include the intersection of creativity and future technologies through academic research and practices.
His Art J Foundation building also in Portland is home for artists and creators and the base for the End of Summer Artist Residency which brings 6 young emerging artists from Japan to the Pacific Northwest to live and work each Fall. His work with young contemporary artists will expand its footprint into Asia.
His Jay Scholarship Fund at The Ohio State University founded in 1986 encourages and nurtures students of Asian descent to consider a study of the arts and a career in creativity.
Jay's diverse creative career is represented by an eclectic mix of awards, from Gold Medal at the Leipzig Book Fair, ""14 Most Beautiful Books of the Year"" by the Copenhagen Museum, Fast Company's "" 100 Most Creative People"", American Photographer, ""80 Most influential "" to GQ Magazine's ""Top Ten New Restaurants in America"" and GD Magazine's top ten list for ""Most Influential Art Director of the Past 50 Years. His creative work is included in a selection of museums in the USA and Europe .
His book, ""Be the Eye of the Cultural Storm"" will be published by Rizzoli in Milan in 2024.
Jay is the founder of Uniqlo's Global Creative Lab offices in Tokyo, New York, Portland and Shanghai, which oversees major international creative, strategic and innovation projects including collaborations with top fashion designers, art museums, creative institutions including Museum of Modern Art, Tate Modern, The Louvre as well as global ambassadors. He lives in New York, Portland and Tokyo and works in each office each month.
Previously, he was Co-Creative Director with Dan Wieden overseeing the international network of Wieden+Kennedy and opened the agency offices in Tokyo and Shanghai. There he was a partner of the agency and served as a trustee of the agency foundation. Jay founded the W+K Tokyo Lab, the innovative independent music label in Japan.
Prior to his agency career, Jay was the Sr. VP / Creative Director and Exec. VP / Marketing Director for Bloomingdales.
Here he helped to oversee the creation and marketing of the major country expositions, working with the most influential creators in the world as well as the Ministries of Culture, Business and Tourism throughout Europe and Asia. His work included product development, exhibitions, film documentaries and cultural exchanges.
Jay also is the founder / director of Studio J in Portland a creative consultancy studio and investor in design, hospitality, wellness, publishing and art projects. New ventures will include the intersection of creativity and future technologies through academic research and practices.
His Art J Foundation building also in Portland is home for artists and creators and the base for the End of Summer Artist Residency which brings 6 young emerging artists from Japan to the Pacific Northwest to live and work each Fall. His work with young contemporary artists will expand its footprint into Asia.
His Jay Scholarship Fund at The Ohio State University founded in 1986 encourages and nurtures students of Asian descent to consider a study of the arts and a career in creativity.
Jay's diverse creative career is represented by an eclectic mix of awards, from Gold Medal at the Leipzig Book Fair, ""14 Most Beautiful Books of the Year"" by the Copenhagen Museum, Fast Company's "" 100 Most Creative People"", American Photographer, ""80 Most influential "" to GQ Magazine's ""Top Ten New Restaurants in America"" and GD Magazine's top ten list for ""Most Influential Art Director of the Past 50 Years. His creative work is included in a selection of museums in the USA and Europe .
His book, ""Be the Eye of the Cultural Storm"" will be published by Rizzoli in Milan in 2024.