Why Does Design Move People? ~ Considering the Power of Design Through "Advertising" (Part 1)

——At the 2015 AdFest, Honda's corporate branding "Honda. Beautiful Engines.", produced by Mr. Yagi, won the Grand Prix in the Design/Booklet category, along with several other awards. It also won Bronze in the Design/Flyers category at the "Iron Mind: One Show 2013" exhibition organized by the Ad Museum Tokyo, operated by our foundation. Furthermore, in the Outdoor/Poster category, the Print Craft/Photography category, and the Print Craft/Best Use of Photo category, JR East Japan's "Let's Go, Tohoku." won Bronze in all three, achieving multiple awards. Congratulations on your many wins (Editor's note: same applies below).

Yagi: I never imagined I would receive such a grand prize. When I was participating as a judge for the One Show, I was truly nervous and tense right there, wondering whether JR East Japan's "Let's Go, Tohoku!" would win or not.

——This issue of "AD STUDIES" features "What Lies Beyond Marketing" as its theme. Design, encompassing not just advertising communication but also products, represents the direct point of contact with consumers. From this perspective, we're interested in how designers envision what lies beyond marketing and create tangible forms, exploring that process.
Design thinking is likely intuitive, and for researchers and marketers, it's an area that's difficult to analyze or verbalize. I wonder if we can somehow verbalize it to identify themes that could become subjects for research. I see this as a challenge, but could you share a glimpse into your creative process, Mr. Yagi?
First, could you tell us about the "Let's Go, Tohoku!" campaign, including how the idea came about?

Yagi: "Let's Go, Tohoku." started in 2011, so this year marks its fifth anniversary. Before that, there was actually a campaign called "MY FIRST AOMORI." This was a campaign for the opening of the Tokyo-Shin-Aomori line, aiming to introduce people to the lesser-known charm and beauty of Aomori. Right after this campaign, just as we were gearing up for the next phase, the 3.11 earthquake and tsunami struck. For a while, the Shinkansen was suspended, and the region suffered immense damage. Amidst the tense atmosphere where we felt powerless, our team and the client discussed, "Is there anything we can do right now?" We concluded that the greatest support for recovery would be for us to go to Tohoku. That's how we launched the declaration "Let's Go, Tohoku." and the campaign began.

Using transportation motifs like bullet trains and railways to convey Tohoku's appeal

 

——This is truly a poster that tells the story through design.

Yagi: When we first launched, the world felt subdued. We knew ordinary approaches wouldn't grab attention. JR campaigns typically highlight beautiful landscapes or food, but the atmosphere back then wasn't conducive to that kind of appeal. So we aimed for bold visuals that would wake people up.
We used three colors as a metaphor for the Tohoku Shinkansen, designing it to convey the image of the Shinkansen's spirit spreading throughout society. We created a design system so that even if the Shinkansen visual itself wasn't present, its presence could be felt across the series of posters. Pop, energetic, rock... That was the mood. We wanted people to feel that JR East was finally getting serious. I think the Shinkansen is like a kind of hero. The image of the Shinkansen shouting "Let's go, Tohoku!" felt incredibly reliable. We developed the design concept using that image of the Shinkansen and its sense of speed as motifs.

Initial reactions were mixed—honestly, opinions were divided. We got many responses from Tohoku saying, "It gave us energy," but some in Tokyo commented, "Isn't this a bit over the top?" Still, I felt we needed to go that far to make an impact.

——What factors led to this campaign, which faced such mixed reactions, becoming a long-running one?

Yagi: It ended after the first year, but it's interesting that it continued after that. Within that, there's a strong sense that it's being created while communicating with society, or rather, being created together. So the expression kept changing too. Initially, it was graphical expression, but from the second year, as the Shinkansen and stations were restored, we tried concepts like sending postcards depicting the current scenery of Tohoku to Tokyo. We also tried designs incorporating elements of tourism, like food and hot springs. From the third year onward, we shifted focus to highlighting the railway journey itself, regardless of destination. In that sense, while cherishing the rallying cry "Let's go, Tohoku!", the expressions have quite a range. For us, continuing it like "Let's go to Kyoto!" holds meaning, so we strive each year to avoid becoming stale.

For the most recent series, we featured the trains themselves, using close-up shots of the rolling stock to create highly graphic posters. It felt like a straight shot right down the middle.
We had the chance to shoot at a depot where they repair and inspect the cars. Seeing the depot staff pour their love into each and every car made me realize how much of a waste it is to ride them without knowing that. The Kiha 40 series running on lines like the Hachinohe Line, nicknamed the "Red Demon," has these metal protrusions on the front that look like the horns of a red demon – kind of cute, actually. I really like that kind of personality. While bullet trains always get the cool spotlight, I hoped this series would show new railfans that "local lines are incredibly charming too."

Incidentally, the T-shirts you could win in the contest were promotional items. I thought this also captured the inherent value of local lines, and they seemed to be quite popular.

——Like "Let's go to Kyoto," destination campaigns usually try to convey the atmosphere of the destination. But this one aimed to express the essence of the railway itself, right?

Yagi: After the earthquake, there was a widespread "Let's support Tohoku" sentiment among companies. But as recovery progressed and more information became available, expressions naturally evolved. There shouldn't be just one reason to visit Tohoku. Food and beautiful scenery are reasons, but isn't the act of traveling by train itself appealing? By focusing on the transportation itself, like we did this time, and highlighting how wonderful it is, I believe we can continually deliver fresh impressions.

But the core mindset behind "Let's Go, Tohoku." hasn't fundamentally changed. Through these campaigns, we've gradually gained fans who eagerly anticipate each seasonal campaign's scenery. That's why we can't let them down. Yet, precisely because of that, I feel a bit of pressure to deliver unexpected expressions – to "betray" expectations in a good way. Since "Let's Go, Tohoku!" has become firmly established among everyone, we try to think of communications that cleverly leverage that. This time, making a train car the main visual was also aimed at surprising people precisely because they'd think, "They wouldn't do that for 'Let's Go, Tohoku!'" It's more thrilling that way.

Puzzling together the client's challenge with my own imagination

 

——Mr. Yagi, I'd like to ask a bit about the process you go through to arrive at the final design.

Yagi: People often assume designers just think intuitively, but we actually start from marketing concepts quite often. As we develop the design from there, we consider whether the ideas we've been nurturing might fit well with the marketing concept. I always want to surprise the world. I constantly have these wild ideas—like, wouldn't people be amazed by this? Or wouldn't this create new value? I have tons of these fantasies, unrelated to work. I keep a lot of these drawers full. Then, when a client gives me a challenge, alongside deepening my research and thinking around it, I pull fantasies from my own drawers. I try to fit them onto the challenge, thinking, "This will definitely work well for this problem." It feels like solving a puzzle.

I believe that combination of puzzle pieces is what "design" truly is. It's like a miraculous invention. Often, these inventions happen by chance. I suspect if you try to think things through step-by-step, you won't arrive at an "invention." It feels like new things only emerge when chance encounters, insights, wild ideas, and leaps of imagination all come together.

——What process leads you to that final "This is it!" feeling or idea?

Yagi: That's the happiest time for a designer. Even when a design is finished, there's often still this lingering feeling that it's not ready to be released. It's about whether it logically holds together or not. Even if the expression is complete, there's often a feeling that something doesn't quite fit or is missing when measured against the client's purpose or the challenge at hand. It's during that period of wrestling with it that finding a single "word" often makes everything click into place. It's a bit hard to explain, but it's like finding the "necessity" for the client or the world. Finding that "word that proves the necessity" is what brings closure, provides an explanation, and finally gives birth to that feeling.

We art directors aren't just doing design; surprisingly, we're often searching for the words that give design its existence, that define it. I think we devote a significant amount of effort to that. Finding that one word can make everything feel resolved.

When there are words that define "Why must we do this now, in this era?" or "Why is this expression necessary in today's world?", and when the visual, seen alongside those words, becomes a valid expression, that's when I get the feeling, "This is okay." Artists create art, craft, or even delusions, but we might be the mediators connecting those to marketing philosophy and corporate management principles. You could say our role is to make business and management more artistic, to make them visible and accessible for people to engage with.

[ Continued in Part 2 ]

*The full text is available on the Hideo Yoshida Memorial Foundation website.