Once again, I’m going to talk about Kashiwa Sato, one of Japan�s top creative directors. He is more than just a graphic designer. His creative work spans a wide range of genres and media. UNIQLO (Unique Clothing) (picture above) is Japan’s most popular apparel retailer and Soho N.Y. store concept is designed by Kashiwa Sato.

Art Director is like a doctor, and design is like a prescription

In his interview, Sato compares his art directing job to a doctor, saying he firstly tries to find out what problem(s) his clients have. It’s like a medical examination. Then he tries to come up with a prescription, which is a design in his case. He sees meeting with clients as most important since he strongly believes that ideas for solution lie within clients, not elsewhere.

Break down a barrier

Sato says “basically, ads are meant to be ignored”. This must be true. Who pays attention to a poster on a street when you’re in a hurry? We’re surrounded by overwhelming numbers of advertisements and tend to protect ourselves from those unnecessary info by creating a barrier around us. What Sato is trying is to create ads that can break down the barrier and catch people’s attention. Yes, this is easier said than done, but very pleasing once achieved, I agree!

Reference

See Kashiwa Sato’s work on official website of Kashiwa Sato