New Career as Director

I started working for Japan Advertising Inc. as director from April 2013.
As matter of fact, I used to work for them before, but this time I decided to join them again because

• Japan AD has a new company policy, challenging to push the boundary of technology forward, which completely fits my freelance direction
• I’ve been feeling pretty limited when working on large projects as one freelance designer (I now have my own design teams), but I can have people to work on them
• What I’ve been doing as a freelance designer can be continued (I’m already working on one big project that I’ve been involved in as a freelancer)
• My craziness and out-of-the-box design direction have already been gotten an official go-ahead by them

So, here are what I can deal with now;

• Web design / strategies
• Smartphone / Tablet UX / UI design, planning, development
• Branding / rebranding
• Graphic, motion, digital signage, AR, display design
• Design consulting
• Future design concepts (futuristic gadgets, computer interface, etc.)
• Fantasy User Interfaces (FUI) for concept movies/films
• Industrial design concepts (mobile devices, etc.)

I’m very happy to be able to broaden and deepen my design career.
You might already know that I’ve been helping some start-ups and know their ‘stuff’ very much, so I’m thinking of working with them in order to get very interesting synergy effects for such as campaigns for big companies.

Please feel free to talk to me at my email address as before, when you want to wow the world!

Japan Advertising Inc. is near Shinjuku, Tokyo.

http://jpn-ad.co.jp/

Desktop Wallpaper for April 2013

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With Calendar
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iPhone 5 (w/o calendar) | iPhone 4/4S (w/o calendar)

So from this time I add designs with calendars, responding to the requests from some readers.
Also following the advise from I’ve added my stamp to identify my wallpapers.

iPhone App Design – KiDDY

KiDDY is an easy kids photo diary app for parents raising children.

-Instant photo diary of your kids
-Photo calendar view to easily check out your child’s growth
-Keep your photos shared with only your family members
-Your kids’ photos will be sent on KiDDY Card with a beautiful layout every month (paid service) to your loved ones.

Visit the website.

I worked on the branding, UX, UI of the app, website on PC/mobile, concept movie (plan, script, design), graphic design, character design and everything you can see and touch. I also did the Android version and it’s on the way.

<iPhone App UI/UX>

<Web Design>

<Character Design>

<Graphic Design>

<Motion Design, Planning, Script>

https://kiddy-photo.com/

‘Think-Positive’ Battery Icon

Desktop Wallpaper for February 2013 #2

My quote this time (wow)!
Yeah it’s not the end/beginning of a month, but I just wanted to make another one.

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Desktop Wallpaper for February 2013

Dreams are today’s answers to tomorrow’s questions.
Edgar Cayce

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This time I tried Japanese calligraphy by myself (so I’m a bit shy). “叶” is one of my favorite characters that means ‘realize’. It must look different from the original character because I did it completely my way.

I’ve long wanted to collaborate with a calligrapher for my wallpaper art, but I couldn’t find any so I decided to do it myself. Bought a stylus, used the ‘Zen Brush‘ app and tried to awkwardly draw on my iPad 100 times. I was thinking of making a more artistic wallpaper with a Chinese character, but it didn’t turn out so. I’ll try at least a few more times to make it more like the way I want it to be.

Akamon Desk

I’m very excited to have a chance to work with MONO-LAB Japan, where I helped refine their desk called Akamon Desk.

The idea was there and they already had prototypes when they called me. So what I did was to rethink the whole concept, make it simple and elegant and add some features based on the concept, which are all introduced on this page.

http://www.mono-lab-japan-store.com/desk.html

Marco – Cleverest Digital Pet (Concept) That Loves You

Among so many gadgets that know you, which one of them loves you?

Knows stuff around you

Smartens non-smart items

Ever wished you could do the ‘Search” for your lost item in the real world? Marco sees you and your room, remembers the locations of your belongings where Marco last saw them. Let Marco ‘sniff’ your car key to get him to memorize and trace it. When you lose it, ask him where it is. Marco takes you to the location and lets you know with his laser pointer. Nobody wants to plug everything to the internet. With Marco, you won’t need to.

Make the item you want Marco to memorize close enough for him to ‘sniff’ it.

Marco points out the location of the item with his laser pointer.

Motion User Interface

Does more than words

Marco loves you. He does more than just ‘shows’ or ‘says’ that he does, but he moves his body to express his feelings. Also with his cute movements, Marco lets you know alerts and notifications. The movements of Marco depend on the types and importance of the alerts and notifications. Getting an email from your girlfriend with many angry exclamation marks, having a squall in 5 minutes, forgetting your meeting appointment, you notice it with Marco trying to tell you are having a situation.
Marco also recognizes your simple gestures and voice commands.

With its self-balancing system, Marco makes smooth and cute movements for 360 degrees.

When you get home after a long absense, Marco will frantically welcome you.

Monitor Your House

When you are away

Yes, you can see your room through Marco with your smartphone when you are away. But, Marco is not just a moving monitor. He is clever enough to answer your verbal questions, such as “Did I turn off the heater?” Of course he makes a phone call for you right after you leave home, “you forgot to lock the door!”.
You can watch and talk with your kids at home when you are away. How about enjoying chasing your kid by remote-controlling Marco?

Marco not just waits for you alone at home. See things at home when you are away with his eyes, moving around with his foot.

Can’t wait to see your little baby at home? You can not only see her, but also play with her.

Behaves Like a Pet & More

Apps for characters & skills

Customize the settings to make Marco behave the way you like it, but if you want it to do more tricks, download apps! Hip hop dance, little puppy tricks, snake movements, etc. You can also make settings on how he responds to certain gestures. Based on your choice, Marco will even hide and makes a surprise appearance on your birthday!
Download apps to enjoy AR games. See your Marco through your smartphone and have fun with games both in the digital and physical worlds!

Have more fun by letting Marco move along with your gestures.

The personality of Marco is up to your choice.

Desktop Wallpaper for January 2013

An empty canvas is a living wonder… far lovelier than certain pictures.
Wassily Kandinsky

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iPhone 5 (without calendar) | iPhone 4/4S

Happy new year! Hope you’re all having a wonderful year start.

From this year I’m making the desktop wallpaper even simpler than the past years; without a calendar! I rarely refer to the dates on my wallpaper, so this is to try to make things simple and efficient.

My resolution for 2013 is to “disseminate” my ideas and messages to the world more and more. First of all I’ll publish an ebook for Kindle soon (I need advice on technical and tax issues). I’m also working on a few products to be released this year (hopefully). In any case I always try to be passionate enough to do the above. In order to do so, I’ve been buying red items around me and try to wear at least one red thing every day. My favorite color is actually blue, but the color for 2013 is red.

Calendar Desktop Wallpaper: December 2012

Even in winter an isolated patch of snow has a special quality.
Andy Goldsworthy

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iPhone 5 (without calendar)

iPhone 4