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nendo × Dentsu Inc. = cacdo designs business [1/2]What is "business design" handled by cacdo, the new company formed by nendo and Dentsu Inc.?
Oki Sato, a globally renowned designer selected for Newsweek's '100 Japanese People the World Respects,' leads the design office 'nendo.' In collaboration with Dentsu Inc., nendo established the joint venture 'cacdo' in 2017. President Tetsu Masuda explains why this company was created and what exactly it does.
I'm Tetsu Masuda from Dentsu Inc. and I've been appointed president of cacdo. Today, I'd like to introduce what this new company, cacdo, is all about.
First, regarding nendo, led by Ooki Sato. The company's design fields span a wide range, from product design and spatial design to business design areas involving corporate branding and problem-solving.
The newly established cacdo will primarily focus on "business design" within this scope, aiming to provide these services to a wider range of companies.
At this point, readers may have several questions.
・What exactly is business design?
・Why did the two companies join forces to create cacdo?
・What can cacdo offer its clients?
We'll address these questions. First, let's explain the first question: business design.
Business Design: Clearly Solving "Unclear Challenges"
Mr. Sato is a globally active designer, having won the prestigious "Elle Deco International Design Awards" (EDIDA) at the youngest age and having his works collected by renowned museums worldwide, including the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York ( see nendo website ).
As mentioned earlier, his work and that of his firm nendo extends beyond conventional design fields like products and spaces into the realm of business design.
nendo typically handles around 400 design projects at any given time. About half of these are international projects, but the majority of domestic projects are business design.
What exactly is business design? While it lacks a widely shared definition, my interpretation defines business design as follows:
Companies often have vague concerns, such as "We want to refresh the company's image as the president transitions," or "Product sales are declining, but we don't know what's wrong." For these "challenges without clear solutions," nendo has consistently proposed and implemented all possible solutions.
When we receive a consultation, it's not yet decided how to solve the problem—whether it involves creating some kind of deliverable, for example. We always start by "listening to the challenge," then consider all possible approaches with an open mind. And then we execute.
During the execution phase, we employ every conceivable solution without restriction to field or method—whether it involves product development, branding, advertising strategy, or video production.
From ads built solely around a company logo to crowdfunding!?
nendo's solutions, unconstrained by field or method
Here are two examples from nendo's past business design projects.
● Business Design Case Study 1: IHI
Challenge: "We want to increase awareness of our new company name and business activities."
IHI is a comprehensive heavy industrial manufacturer supporting our lives, spanning energy, social infrastructure, industrial machinery, and aerospace. It changed its name from Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries in 2007. However, it struggled to increase recognition among general consumers and recruiters. Furthermore, because its business is primarily B2B, it found it difficult to communicate its operations broadly.
Consulted by the company, nendo devised an advertising campaign as the solution.
This involved creating visuals depicting cityscapes, bridges, ships, and airplanes using only the blue letters of the corporate logo "IHI," then deploying them in newspaper ads and TV commercials. The message conveyed was "Many things are made by IHI."
YouTube Video: IHI 60s
To address the challenge of "increasing awareness of the new company name and business activities," they chose the solution of "an advertising strategy using the company name visually." (Refer to nendo website)
●Business Design Case Study 2: Waseda University Rugby Football Club
Challenge: "Strengthen the team to reclaim the top spot in Japan"
Another case study is the Waseda University Rugby Football Club.
In February 2016, a new coach took charge of the team, which had been away from winning championships for some time. At this time, the new coach and manager visited nendo, with the purpose of commissioning the design for the logo celebrating the team's "100th Anniversary" in 2018.
However, when Mr. Sato spoke with the coach, he heard a strong desire: "I want to make this team stronger than ever and reclaim the top spot in Japan." In response, nendo presented several solutions to support that vision.
The first step was revising the official game jerseys. While retaining the traditional "エンジ×黒" (エンジ×黒) color scheme, the design was changed to emphasize muscle definition and make the players appear more dynamic in action. The goal was to boost morale by making the team look stronger, thereby enhancing overall team strength.
Next, based on the coach's vision, we collaborated with a copywriter to develop the team slogan "BE THE CHAIN" and produced a video to promote its adoption.
Furthermore, to address the team's concern about having less funding than rival schools, we planned to utilize "Financense," a crowdfunding service operated by nendo. The team launched the crowdfunding campaign "BE THE CHAIN PARTNER FUND," offering nendo-designed original goods as rewards to backers, and successfully raised 10 million yen.
YouTube Video: Waseda_Rugby
This is an example of how nendo used every design tool at their disposal to tackle the vast and complex challenge of "how to make a team stronger." (See nendo website)
Corporate collaborations and mass media strategies are also being strengthened!
The reason cacdo was born
The business design work handled by nendo has primarily been led by Mr. Sato and Mr. Akihiro Ito, the company's Managing Director.
They possessed the ability to swiftly grasp and analyze the essence of clients' vague challenges, devise solutions, and execute them.
They could pinpoint the problem accurately on the spot during consultations and present prototype products or plans within days, often utilizing tools like 3D printers. This speed, combined with consistently delivering results, earned them high praise and led to an increase in business design projects.
My first involvement with Mr. Sato, Mr. Ito, and others was in 2006, when Lotte's gum "ACUO" launched as a new product. As the account executive at Dentsu Inc. handling this project, I commissioned them for the packaging design.
ACUO, which became nendo's first product design project, was an explosive hit that year. Since then, over the past 12 years, I have worked on numerous projects with Mr. Sato, Mr. Ito, and others.
As nendo's profile grew, business design projects surged dramatically. Sato and Ito began exploring ways to expand their capacity for handling business design projects and increasing human resources. This leads to the answer for the second question posed at the beginning: "Why was cacdo created?"
Another factor is that the solutions they propose and execute for business design projects span multiple fields and domains. Typically, designers might gravitate toward solutions within their core areas of expertise, like product or spatial design. However, nendo seeks the "best" solution, even if it means going beyond conventional design fields.
This is precisely why nendo is now collaborating with companies across various industries to strengthen "solutions in every domain." The crowdfunding service "Finances," mentioned earlier, is also a result of their collaboration with Music Securities.
The birth of cacdo stems from this desire to "increase the number of solutions." For instance, when tackling business design challenges such as mass media promotion or event planning, Dentsu Inc.'s capabilities can broaden the range of options.
cacdo's raison d'être is to create synergies that facilitate nendo's high-quality ideas more smoothly and help bring them to fruition.
Maximizing the problem-solving capabilities of Ooki Sato
and support more clients
Do you now have a clearer idea of the "business design" services cacdo offers its clients? Finally, let's summarize the third question raised at the beginning: "What can cacdo provide to its clients?"
It is this: For challenges where the solution isn't clear, or for vague problems that are hard to articulate, cacdo will uncover the core of the issue and propose and execute every possible solution.
No challenge is too small. In fact, we especially welcome discussions during phases where solutions remain unclear. Business Design thrives on being approached with vague, undefined problems.
cacdo's creative structure involves creators from nendo and Dentsu Inc. participating in or collaborating on projects as needed. The office itself is located within nendo's premises, so you can think of it as nendo and Dentsu Inc. literally becoming one. Of course, all cacdo work is overseen by Mr. Ooki Sato.
Combining the two companies has also broadened our access points. Dentsu Inc.'s strength lies in its diverse channels. This should enable solutions in business design, such as cross-industry promotions that combine companies from different sectors.
If you're interested in cacdo, please feel free to consult us about your challenges!
Moving forward, we plan to deepen your understanding of cacdo and business design by introducing specific examples of projects cacdo has handled.
cacdo Official Website: cacdo
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Author
Tetsu Masuda
Dentsu Inc.
Business Production Bureau (on secondment to CACDO)
Joined the company in 1998. After working in the Marketing Division, transferred to the 2nd Sales Division, the predecessor of the current Business Producers Division 20. While handling a major confectionery manufacturer for over 15 years, collaborated with nendo on various projects. Became Sales Division Manager in 2014, and assumed the role of President and Director of cacdo Inc. in February 2017. Currently exploring the field of business design daily at the cacdo office within nendo in Aoyama.
