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A Realist
Who Knows
Importance

Designers in Tokyo

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  • This is Ayumu Nakamura’s profile photo.
    Ayumu Nakamura

    Designer, SDJ

A city that is concise and reasonable while holding fast to taste, individuality, meaning, and tradition. To gain someone’s approval in Tokyo, you must be able to prove your own worth.

This is a cityscape image of Tokyo.

How did you become a product designer?

Ayumu I had a lot of opportunity to interact with art ever since I was a young child due to my father being an artist. Besides art, I was also interested in automobiles and home appliances which naturally influenced me to choose product design as a major in college. After getting my first job, I built up my work experience by designing products such as prints and scanners.

Are there specific beliefs you have for design that you held even before joining the team?

Ayumu I believe a good design should permeate into the lives of people and be used for a long period of time. I want to create a product that is used continuously without being tossed, eventually becoming a part of the nostalgic memory of its users.

  • This is a photo of SDD designers working together.
  • This is a photo of SDD designers working together.

Other than those beliefs, what is important when it comes to actual work?

Ayumu I realized that it is impossible to bring a project to fruition by simply having a design. A complicated process that involves coordinating with different teams such as sales, planning, quality assurance, and strategy is necessary, and even then, we cannot allow too much delay. I learned that shortening the time it takes to transform a design into a product by quickly adopting different perspectives and opinions is the key to a successful project.

That means collaboration is very important. What do you do to make this happen?

Ayumu I think it is most important to create an atmosphere in which collaborating with others is preferred over anything else. That is why it is just as crucial to develop great people skills as it is to have great design skills.

“We constantly reevaluate ourselves to check whether our initial intentions are unchanged and reassess the product in the perspective of our customers.”

“We constantly reevaluate ourselves to check whether our initial intentions are unchanged and reassess the product in the perspective of our customers.”

This is photos of SDJ designers.

I’d like to know if there are any fields you would like to venture into in the future.

Ayumu Since I live in Japan, I have interest in designs that are related to natural disasters. Japan is not the only country affected, as there are natural disasters occurring around the world, from hurricanes in North America and floods in China to earthquakes in Italy, Philippines, and Indonesia. I want to design products and services that can be helpful in situations before and after a disaster occurs. I hope I can someday support important and urgent efforts such as rescue missions with my designs.

What are the areas of focus in terms of design?

Ayumu We objectively evaluate whether a customer will find a product ‘desirable and worth its cost.’ More and more people in Japan are starting to adopt minimalist lifestyles of not owning many things. That is why a product must be incredibly appealing for it to be chosen by Japanese consumers. As we make progress in a project, we constantly reevaluate ourselves to check whether our initial intentions are unchanged and reassess the product in the perspective of our customers.

Are there any special activities you participate in to gain design inspiration?

Ayumu I regularly participate in design competitions with friends from other companies. I observe designs from various genres from food products, stationary, to general goods and examine latest trends to hone my sensitivities for inspiration.

What are the areas of focus in terms of design?

Ayumu We objectively evaluate whether a customer will find a product ‘desirable and worth its cost.’ More and more people in Japan are starting to adopt minimalist lifestyles of not owning many things. That is why a product must be incredibly appealing for it to be chosen by Japanese consumers. As we make progress in a project, we constantly reevaluate ourselves to check whether our initial intentions are unchanged and reassess the product in the perspective of our customers.

Are there any special activities you participate in to gain design inspiration?

Ayumu I regularly participate in design competitions with friends from other companies. I observe designs from various genres from food products, stationary, to general goods and examine latest trends to hone my sensitivities for inspiration.

This is photos of SDJ designers.

I’d like to know if there are any fields you would like to venture into in the future.

Ayumu Since I live in Japan, I have interest in designs that are related to natural disasters. Japan is not the only country affected, as there are natural disasters occurring around the world, from hurricanes in North America and floods in China to earthquakes in Italy, Philippines, and Indonesia. I want to design products and services that can be helpful in situations before and after a disaster occurs. I hope I can someday support important and urgent efforts such as rescue missions with my designs.

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