Making "That Guy Everyone Hates" More Interesting

Introducing "Ideas to Make ○○ More Interesting" from Dentsu Inc.'s young art directors. This time, Nao Hirano presents "Making That 'Hated Guy' Interesting."

Making That Unpopular Guy Charming

──Why did you choose the theme "Making That Guy Everyone Hates Interesting"?

Hirano: When I received this theme and considered what to do, I thought it would be great to take the negative image everyone has of cockroaches and express it charmingly from a different perspective.

I've always loved drawing caricatures and do it often. But caricatures don't turn out well unless you like the person, right? Sometimes people send me photos asking me to draw them, but if I don't know them, it just ends up looking like a copy—superficial—and doesn't turn out well.

Once, I accidentally entered a revolving door with a cockroach and ended up walking through it together. At that moment, I thought, "Oh, this guy's alive too" (laughs). I don't like cockroaches, but I don't find them impossible to look at either—it's not quite as bad as people generally say. I wanted to capture their distinctive movements and that swarming feeling while offering a different perspective.

I want to peek into a wide variety of worlds

──Tell us about things or topics you're interested in right now.

Hirano: I like both music and movies, but I don't limit myself to just one. I have interests and curiosities in many things, so I keep my antennae out and enjoy a wide range.

Since working on artist branding and music video production, I've been invited to concerts much more often. And across many genres. Discovering artists I wouldn't normally seek out opens up new worlds, which I love. That might be my defining trait. An omnivorous taste, I guess. I want to keep peeking into all kinds of worlds, without fixed ideas or preconceptions.