What was I even thinking when I made this book?

This is a bonus column where the three people who came together for the publication of 『SHARED VISION』 step out of the book to chat.

Hirota: When writing this book, my biggest concern was avoiding making it a hardcore marketing theory "book that looks difficult." I've always believed social media should be closer to everyday life and need more of that everyday feel. I wanted a design that would express my style in a good, understated way, without embellishment, so I asked my colleague Yagi to handle it.

Yagi: My first impression when looking at the business book section was, "Wow, so many text-based designs!" So I thought a visual-focused cover might stand out. Hirota-san asked for "not a strong medicine, but herbal medicine. A gentle impression, like chamomile tea." That's when I thought Izumi Shiokawa's illustrations would be perfect, and the idea developed from there.

Since the title 'SHARED VISION' is an unfamiliar term, I decided to visualize it itself. That's why I created a design where a man and woman are connected by glasses. As an eye-catching element, I printed the glasses on tracing paper, making it possible to remove them.

Hirota: And we asked Fujimoto-san for the obi copy. Fujimoto-san's own tweets are so entertaining, and I was already a fan (laughs). But seriously, Fujimoto-san's copy—even though it's incredibly simple, with no digital gimmicks or anything—generates word-of-mouth at an astonishing rate.

Fujimoto: At first, when they said "for the book's obi," I mistakenly thought they wanted me to write a recommendation. I thought, "I'm unknown, so I'd just hurt sales..." and considered declining. But when I clarified, it turned out they actually wanted copywriting (laughs). This project involved communicating a book—a product of "words"—using copy—itself a form of "words." That part was quite challenging and gave me a headache.

Summarizing the book's content in one line is tough, so I framed the copy as a question: "What did we want to achieve with social media in the first place?" After reading the manuscript beforehand, I sensed it wasn't about "technology" or "mechanisms" but posed fundamental questions. I thought it would be good if the copy also became a question.

Hirota: When we talk about social media, we tend to focus on digital technology and systems. But beyond social media, there are always people, and what resonates with them is often the personality of the person sharing. So rather than thinking "Let's plan a social media campaign," it's crucial to start by asking: "Will this make the other person happy?"