When you have something you want to make with paper, you cut/fold paper to make the shape.
I wish however, there were paper and ink that do the ‘folding’ and ‘cutting’ automatically. You send the data of the shape you want to make from your computer/mobile to the printer. The paper you printed out automatically starts to cut and fold itself!

If that really happens, you’d be able to make various complicated paper models with no efforts. It’d be even cool if you could download 3D data from a gallery like Google 3D Warehouse, print it out and you get it in your hand. You download a physical thing!

But wait! If you could even control not only where and how far to fold but also when to fold via bluetooth or wifi, it means you could move paper as you like without touching it. (It’s like embedding Javascript in paper!)

And the shape-shifting concepts like the below one wouldn’t need any complicated mechanisms if such paper technology were available.

(Photoshopped just a bit)

These are some of the first rough mock-ups I made last year. I was planning to bring them to Re:publica in Berlin for my speech there. However on the very same day when the first mock-ups arrived to my house on March 11th, the earthquake happened (I was miraculously at home waiting for the delivery), which caused catastrophic damages not only in this country but places all around the globe, and my business was also affected from it. So I had to hold the plan for some time. And now I’m restarting to make the dream come true.

They are the very first mock-ups and pretty roughly made, so it’s not the level to show anyone yet, but I hope you can picture what it will be like to hold it in your hand.

I’m now looking for a sponsor to make this dream come true. Contact me if you’re interested.

When a man has put a limit on what he will do, he has put a limit on what he can do.
Charles M. Schwab

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The one concept I was preparing for as the last 2011 post couldn’t be in time. Sorry.

This is the second year since I started freelancing. Here are what I’m doing now and it could be an excuse for the fewer posts for this blog than last year.

Software

• NCDC: working closely with this Japanese company for iPhone/iPad/Android apps
• 1 Android related software everyone can use (and love?) and more in 2012 also on iPhone
• A few other GUIs for some interesting futuristic platforms
• A fashion website to go live soon

Hardware

• A few thrilling smartphone concepts + tablet devices
• Graphic designs for smartphone cases for 2 companies
• Smart city architecture concepts

Others

• Writing for Jonny Holland
• Collaboration with MONO-LAB Japan to develop some products

I can tell 2012 will be one of the most exciting years in my life. Strongly believe many people around the globe will have chances to see what I make (not just concepts). Just can’t wait to introduce all the above products/services as soon as I can!

Thank you all for reading this blog. I’ve restarted blogging in Japanese on Blogger. I use Facebook for casual talks and Twitter for inspirations.

I wish you all the best in 2012!

I was asked to make a post on how social networking sites especially LinkedIn and Behance Network helped my freelance business, so here it is.

My blog is where I introduce my random thoughts and designs. I started it just for fun because back then I was working as in-house designer at a bank, where almost none of my works could be revealed outside no matter how good design I made, which caused a big frustration for a designer like me. I wanted to show something to the world and get feedback from people and then I found a great blog theme on WordPress for free. Back then I only had this WordPress account and Flickr. It was just for fun showing stuff I made, but gradually more and more people visited my blog and after about a year or so since I started blogging, I got job offers and project invitations. I was working for a bank and couldn’t receive any offers as long as I was there, so I declined all the offers. I finally quit the job when I was convinced to earn enough to support my family by freelancing (July 2011). And here I am.

Behance Network
I needed somewhere to organize my random designs on my blog. Luckily Behance featured one of my concept designs and I got a lot of traffic to the post. Smashing Magazine, Yanko Design and many other design websites featured it, too, so now the images of their sites appear very often on Google Image Search, which is one of the main source of visitors to my blog now. On the other hand, as I completed projects with my clients, I added my works on Behance as my professional portfolios.

When I receive calls via Behance, they are often interested in involving me as a designer in their projects. They have some particular tastes for their products/websites that match my designs on Behance.

Prosite is an online portfolio site where visitors can focus on viewing one’s works and profiles. Prosite and Flickr are the only social networking sites that cost every month, but I believe they are worth it.

LinkedIn
I started LinkedIn because I needed my professional network to see my profile and resume. My career is pretty weird and different from other designers and I thought it could be one advantage. Before LinkedIn I had joined some other Japanese only career sites, but none of them worked like the way LinkedIn does.

When I get connection invitations through LinkedIn, those people have usually already seen my works somewhere else, visit my blog and then find me on LinkedIn for a professional network connection. Many of them are companies and startups. Compared to Behance Network, clients read carefully my career path before calling me, which is a good sign because they don’t seek quick solutions but long term business relationships.

Flickr
I use this site as somewhere I can express myself more freely than on my blog. So I upload my everyday scenes as well as the images for my blog. For professional purpose, I take advantage of the Flickr’s sets and collections to organize my designs differently than Behance. For example on Behance images are categorized only by projects, but on Flickr you can put the same images on various sets. So you can freely create sets for visitors to be able to find photos easily.

I don’t get a call for a job through Flickr, but this site could be used for a quick view of my works, which sometimes I do.

Twitter
On Twitter I’m like talking to myself with trivial ideas and instant inspirations in my daily life that I don’t make a post of for my blog. By connecting it with my blog I’m gradually getting more and more followers, so recently I use Twitter for notifying blog updates.

Surprisingly via Twitter I have got projects a few times. But the most useful moment with Twitter was when I was visiting Cupertino, CA. I really liked the city and just tweeted “I really don’t wanna go back to Japan”, someone who read the tweet replied and I got an interview with her on the next day! I couldn’t make it in the interview, but I still get in touch with her.

Vimeo
Why not YouTube? I like the neater UI and the quality of the movies. Here I upload the movies/animation that include my futuristic concepts so that people can quickly view my works. I’m dreaming of a chance to design future devices for Hollywood movies, so sometime I get caught by their eyes hopefully.

Through Vimeo I never had a chance of a job, but as an introduction of your profile, it can be a great way.

Conclusion
Whatever you post on wherever social networking site, you represent nobody else. If you are a freelancer, you have to be a brand that stands out among thousands of other competitors. The rest of what I want to say is completely expressed in this Steve Jobs’ video, so if you have never watched it, just do it!

Movie by AGC: Glass Can Change The World

Concept Car

Dashboard UI

Smart House

UI for Glass Fridge / Energy Management Pane

Roll-up Newspaper / Newspaper Graphic

Robot

Car Dashboard Mockup Panel Screens

It was my first time ever to design a car and a robot, but I had lots of fun making them.
Asahi Glass now introduces their great technologies in a booth for “Smart Mobility City 2011″ in Tokyo Motor Show.
http://www.agc-smc2011.com/en/

TOYOTA Smart Mobility City 2011 Concept Movie

(I’ll post the movie when it’s officially uploaded on YouTube. This is the old version.)

One of my mobile phone concepts “Glassy Glass” was again picked up and used in the movie.

“God is in the details.”
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

This wonderful model is done by Mr.Shoji Tsuchiya. Please visit his blog, too.

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Dial to unlock by Mac Funamizu is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at petitinvention.wordpress.com.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://petitinvention.wordpress.com.

See also the similar previous post.

There is no reason not to follow your heart.
Steve Jobs

There won’t be a road on the way because a road is where you walked along.
No existing road that you can see is yours.
But as long as you have a heart, you’ve gotta follow it.
I am following my heart.

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But first, I wish a microwave oven was movable so that it could get close to the table when necessary.

Put a dish in it and this oven tells what kinds of foods are in it.

Adjust the ‘look’ of the food displayed on the glass by dragging the button. You can control the cooking time while looking at what it will be like after cooking the adjusted length of time. You’ll know exactly when it boils or burns.

Inspired by a dome tray when I was watching Ratatouille.

This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.