Designing cells, building management together

This series, themed around Dentsu Live Inc.'s "MOMENT OF TRUTH," features an in-depth conversation between Dentsu Live Inc. Executive Officer Taro Ishizaka and two exceptional creators he regularly collaborates with professionally and socially: Yoshinobu Amano of George Creative Company and Makoto Tanijiri of Suppose Design Office. The setting was Suppose's new Tokyo office, currently under construction by Tanijiri.

Interview & Editing: Aki Kanahara, Dentsu Live Inc., Creative Unit 2nd Creative Room

Can we deliver those "moments of surprise" that make pupils dilate?

Ishizaka: Dentsu Live Inc.'s concept is "MOMENT OF TRUTH." You two must have experienced countless moments in various situations, through your work and creations, where you felt, "This connected with people! People were moved!"

Ishizaka: Ultimately, people aren't moved by information alone, nor by systems alone. People are always moved by emotion; they act because of that heart-stirring instant. And people change. That decisive moment is what we consider the engine of all marketing.

Real, lived experiences become the starting point for subsequent actions and also prompt individuals to share that experience with others. The personal experience itself becomes the spark that ignites a chain reaction, spreading digitally or through mass media. We call this "Live Marketing," and at Dentsu Live Inc., we constantly keep this in mind.

First, allow me to share one episode from my own work where I felt a "moment of truth." This is JT's "Beach House." We created it together with Mikan Gumi. It was several years ago.

Tanijiri: Ah, that brings back memories!

Ishizaka: Our mission then was to convey that "this brand provides the ultimate comfort." But "comfort" is tricky to interpret—it's such a visceral sensation. You can't convey it without a real experience, right?

The location is Yuigahama, but until then, beach huts were seen as places to change clothes, eat on the beach, or pick up people. We wanted to create a space where people would find value in the time spent there itself. A place where you could coexist with nature. So, we actively incorporated features of Japanese architecture. We eliminated the boundary between outside and inside. We eliminated walls to embrace the sea breeze and ocean views. We actively aimed for the picture window effect. Without walls, the wind feels wonderful. Honestly, removing walls creates operational challenges—rain pours right in. But we prioritized embodying the concept over that.

Tanijiri: Beautiful!

Ishizaka: This is how it actually looks. Yuigahama Beach sees the tide go out in the morning and come in at night. After 7 PM, you can surf. Surfers come right up close to the beach house and ride the waves. The pleasant breeze, the night sea spreading out below, and the fantastical scene of people surfing. It was a surprise that exceeded our creative intentions and imagination, making us feel a powerful "moment of truth" unique to this place.

A Dentsu Inc. creative director once said that when people's emotions are strongly stirred—whether by anger or sadness—there's always an element of "surprise" immediately preceding it. Well, it might be what we often call "WOW!" these days. I think how well you can design that element is crucial in spatial design.

We created the "Company Cafeteria" at Suppose because we wanted to design cells.

Amano: The work we do involves real retail spaces, so hundreds of people visit daily. In terms of advertising KPIs, it's on a completely different scale from mass media. It's incomparable, really.

Ishizaka: The evolution of digital technology is actually elevating the value of its opposite, the real world. Previously, the real world could convey deep experiences but lacked reach. Digital technology has filled that gap. Consequently, real experiences, including spatial development, have become critically important from a communication perspective.

Amano: My family business is a furniture shop, and I come from a physical retail background. Our mission has always been to get people to come in and buy—not just to communicate, but to figure out "how to get them to buy" has always been crucial. So, this current return to the physical feels like a perfectly natural progression.

Tanijiri-kun is still actively designing houses, and his new office even has a cafeteria for employees. I completely understand why he does things like that. I think there's always been this desire to stay connected to real life.

Tanijiri: What's at my core is cellular design.

Amano: Cell design?

Tanijiri: After all, everyone eats two or three meals a day, right? When you eat, that food builds your cells. Those cells then send commands to your brain. Whether you're thinking or sleeping, what every cell is made of is incredibly important. The busier people get, the more they tend to eat carelessly and poorly. Then, they gradually become more prone to health issues or start looking a bit downcast. So, this is a trial to see if designing an environment where everyone can build healthy cells might lead to creating a good company.

Ishizaka: I see. So designing cells is also designing the company.

Tanijiri: Yes. That's why we named it "Company Cafeteria." The premise is fundamentally an employee cafeteria, because thinking about the inner workings is thinking about society. I believe branding is most crucial when it's internal branding, so we're branding our own company first.

Amano: If you build up the employees' bodies, you can also build good work.

Tanijiri: Branding the employees. If that cell formation works well, it absolutely creates a great team. And as the old saying goes, "sharing the same pot of rice," when everyone starts forming the same cells, their thinking aligns, like in Eastern medicine. The root is still the body, after all. Designing the cells is the most fundamental approach, and I think it pays off later.

Amano: Because if you eat the same things, you produce the same waste (laughs).

Tanijiri: Opening our company cafeteria to non-employees is partly to connect with outsiders, but it's also because we hope even one more person in the world will pick up an architecture book here and think, "I want to hire an architect."

We've always designed architecture with people in mind. Past architects, I think, aimed for architectural works and built structures. But unless "function" and "form" become one, the software and hardware become disconnected. Just like the term "box-like structures" emerged, Japan ended up with many buildings that exist as boxes but don't function. Especially after the earthquake, the idea that "people and architecture are absolutely inseparable" has become the way of being for 21st-century architects.

George Creative Company doesn't just build stores; we build the business alongside them.

Amano: I create real stores that fit the times, based on the perspective that "it's all about getting people to buy."

Tanijiri: That's precisely why the stores Mr. Yoshi creates sell products!

Amano: The real challenge for a store isn't completion, but what happens after opening. For stores we plan or design, we always want to take responsibility until they reach a point where we can say, "Let's stick with them for six months to a year until the business stabilizes." We hate it when a place we planned and worked on just shuts down. To us, it's like our own child.

Tanijiri-kun, when you work on private homes, you can't just walk away, right? If there's a leak somewhere, you get a call right away (laughs).

Tanijiri: That's why architects, once they become famous, gradually stop doing private homes, right? (laughs).

Amano: It's inefficient for running a business, isn't it?