From Isetan Shinjuku Store, Men's Building , the "EMERGING" exhibition by Takahiro Yasuda, a rising art director and graphic designer whom Japan proudly presents to the world, will be held at "ART UP," the gallery space for men's creators on the 2nd floor of the Men's Building at Isetan Shinjuku Store. Despite being busy with numerous client projects, including advertisements for NIKE and artwork for m-flo, Mr. Yasuda continues to produce his own works as a creator. We spoke with him about his sources of inspiration, his roots as a creator, and the theme of this exhibition.

Event Information

"EMERGING"

□July 10th (Wednesday) - July 30th (Tuesday)

□ Isetan Shinjuku Store, Men's Building 2nd Floor = Men's Creators/Art Up

A young basketball player from Nagoya who longed for Nike sneakers.

"Actually, I first became aware of the profession of designer when I was in second grade of elementary school. I was inspired by my admiration for the NBA basketball league and the sneaker boom at the time, and I vaguely thought, 'I'm going to design Nike shoes someday.' It's really interesting that now, although I'm not a product designer, I'm working on the visuals for Nike."

For Takahiro Yasuda, a basketball player from Nagoya who spoke these words, this job was still "a pipe dream." The first catalyst that transformed his dream into a goal was illustrator Kei Wakano.

"When I was in junior high school, I thought the Nike TV commercial 'PLAYER'S DELIGHT,' which featured raps by ZEEBRA, TWIGY, and DEV LARGE, was incredibly cool. At the time, I didn't know that the graphics or illustrations were done by a Japanese person, or that it was a global advertisement, but I just thought it was amazing and cool. Later, a friend told me, 'Apparently, that person was from Nagoya,' and it turned out that this person lived very close to our hometown (laughs). When all those things connected, I realized that stars can be born not just in the entertainment or sports fields, but also from local places like Nagoya. Knowing about Wakano-san, a 'local star,' made me believe that I also had potential. That's something I want to aim for, and I decided I was going to do it."


After moving to Tokyo, he studied photography at Tokyo Zokei University and then graduated from Tama Art University before joining Draft Inc. Known as a highly skilled design group, he was active in a wide range of fields, from graphic design and art direction to product design and movie direction. Despite a fulfilling career, in June 2015, he decided to become independent with a certain resolve.

"At my previous workplace, we worked closely with clients, sometimes yelling at each other, sometimes laughing, communicating directly and intimately to create things together. There was no 'client-centric' attitude, and I was deeply impressed by that approach. We studied the very mechanisms of the client's technology so seriously that we could talk to their researchers on equal footing. That in itself was very interesting, but I wondered if I could work in a field I was more passionate about, using that same style of work. I decided to use the style I learned there to work on projects I enjoy, with people I like."



After going independent, Yasuda, who was working with even more passion than when he was a company employee, albeit in a trial-and-error manner, encountered the creative team CEKAI and the top creators who belonged to it.

"I don't like creating things alone. I prefer working with talented people, going back and forth between ideas and creating a sense of groove. Doing everything alone, from creative direction to graphics to video editing, is just lonely. In that respect, CEKAI is a team where you can connect with anyone. There are many fascinating creators, such as our CEO Kota Iguchi, my university classmate Yuta Ichinose, and video director Taichi Kimura, and there are amazing people in each field who are kind of quirky. Our kind of work often feels like a school festival or a scavenger hunt, which is why our office ends up looking like this. It might seem cluttered and hard to concentrate in, but it actually functions well. Compared to environments where it's even difficult to decide when to meet, the advantage of being able to move forward more easily is huge."

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