Future Vision Studio is born—a specialized team pioneering future business through unique visualization methods!

Dentsu Inc.'s cross-functional creative organization, the Future Creative Center, is a group of over 70 members supporting future-building beyond advertising through creativity. This series features center members discussing their upcoming initiatives under the theme "Future × Creativity."

This installment features Center member Ryosuke Sakaki, who spearheads the globally acclaimed food transfer project "OPEN MEALS." He discusses "Future Vision Studio" (FVS), a project launched to visualize the future using knowledge gained from OPEN MEALS. Joining him are Ayumi Nagai, President of Astamuse, a world-class future analysis company, and Mr. Tetsuaki Higashine, Executive Officer of Pixiv, which operates creative support services centered around illustration communication. They discussed what FVS aims to achieve and the potential synergies from the collaboration between the three companies.

Backcasting from the envisioned future to consider the choices we should make now

Sakaki: Before we begin the discussion, I'd like to introduce FVS to our readers. FVS is one of the projects undertaken by the Future Creative Center. In a nutshell, it's a "project to create the future." It combines various corporate assets with Dentsu Inc.'s imagination and planning capabilities to visualize compelling futures in high resolution. Based on these visuals, we backcast to derive the necessary actions for today. Through prototyping and business consulting, we materialize this "future vision." It's a project involving collaboration between four companies from different industries.

We often hear the term "VUCA" era these days. Change is rapid, the future is increasingly complex, and now the new normal adds to the mix, making it ever more unpredictable.

We believe that in this new era, rather than predicting the future as an extension of the past, an effective approach is to first envision the "Future Vision" we want to create and then steadily progress toward its realization. We named this methodology the "Vision-Driven Method" and developed a unique framework for it.

The precedent for this was actually our "OPEN MEALS" initiative, which co-creates future dining experiences. For projects like food transmission, we first imagined a "super-ambitious vision," then interviewed researchers based on that vision. We edited what was realistically achievable and visualized the future. This was a true example of future vision-driven work, receiving significant media exposure and inquiries from companies.

Recognizing the potential of this approach, FVS was launched to explore its expansion into corporate initiatives. Specifically, we envision a "Future Business Development Program" utilizing our proprietary framework, consulting & prototyping for future businesses, and operating owned media to disseminate transformative future visions. Furthermore, we approached Astamuse and Pixiv as partners.

Nagai: At Astamuse, we database intellectual property and technical information worldwide, providing consulting for new business development and technology utilization. We envision playing the role of "Future Data Analysts," leveraging this data to analyze future possibilities.

However, it's crucial to edit the future possibilities we analyze into compelling, exciting, and relatable stories. Why? Because no matter how well we organize future possibilities, if most people don't feel "I want to make this happen," the likelihood of it becoming reality is extremely low. That's why, based on our analysis, Dentsu Inc. will envision and edit the future.

Sakaki: So Dentsu Inc. is the "Future Creator," right?

Higashine: pixiv launched in 2007 as a platform for posting illustrations, and since then, over 90 million works have been submitted by countless creators. Illustrators aren't just highly skilled; their originality and imagination are also incredibly compelling. We saw potential in the role of a "Future Visualizer" – leveraging these illustrators' talents to visualize the predicted, clear future – believing it could contribute to society.

Sakaki: Regarding the specific collaboration between the three companies: First, Astamuse's comprehensive data will form the basis for analyzing future possibilities. Dentsu Inc.'s creators will then expand upon this with their groundbreaking ideas to build a vision. Finally, Pixiv translates that future into visuals. If this relationship works well, I believe it will create a positive chemical reaction. Furthermore, to make it tangible as an actual object, Konel, a creative company serving as a "Future Prototyper," is also participating. The goal of this four-company collaboration is to visualize an ultra-high-resolution future.

Visualization becomes a common language, gaining widespread resonance

Sakaki: Now, about the significance of FVS. Astamuse provides corporate consulting through its technology database, right? What impressed me is their service that lets you search global technology and IP information based on the latest needs of growth markets or social challenges. It essentially enables "reverse-lookup of technology."

Nagai: That's correct. We've accumulated about 7.8 million pieces of technology information and 110 million patent records, allowing users to find technology and IP information that matches their objectives.

We came up with the reverse lookup function because technology has evolved and matured to the point where, for example, technology created for a specific industry can increasingly be repurposed for completely different fields. Conversely, simply bringing technology from a different field into your own industry can sometimes lead to dramatic progress.

Furthermore, over the past 10 years, we have been collecting not only technology and intellectual property information, but also information on "issues" around the world. Among these, we place particular importance on issues that have funding but have not yet been resolved. For example, we collect information on research themes conducted by universities and research institutions using external funding, known as "Grant Data," as well as information on new business ventures and crowdfunding projects around the world.

Sakaki: What made you decide to join FVS?

Nagai: Because I saw the potential in "visual visualization." In analyzing the future and communicating that image, I felt the limitations of text and words. Words rely on the imagination of the listener, so even the same words conjure different images for each person. As a result, it is difficult to achieve empathy and consensus. Japanese companies, in particular, require a great deal of consensus for decision-making. It is difficult to move forward unless many people share a common vision of the future. That was the challenge we faced. Visuals might be able to overcome that point. It is easier to share the same image.

Sakaki: That's something I also felt while developing OPEN MEALS, and it was a major reason for launching FVS. At that time, I discussed with experts from various fields, like university researchers and 3D printer engineers. When specialists from different fields gathered to talk about unseen future visions, even among Japanese people, discussions often completely failed to connect. So I started bringing drawings of the vision in my head to meetings. That dramatically advanced the discussions. People would say, "Then this part should go here," or "This technology can be realized by doing this."

When creating a future no one has seen before, especially when diverse experts come together, visualization becomes both a common language and a compass. That was a major discovery that applies to this project.

"The future is born from one person's imagination and nurtured by society's choices."

Nagai: Above all, no matter how much we analyze future possibilities, it means nothing unless many people resonate with that future and genuinely want to make it happen. That's another reason visualization holds such value.

Sakaki: I often say, "The future is born from one person's imagination and nurtured by society's choices." It starts as one person's vision, but when many people resonate with it, it moves toward realization.

And Pixiv is the one taking on this visualization. I believe it's Japan's largest and one of the world's rare-scale illustrator platformers. What was the reason for participating in FVS this time?

Higashine: It started last year when we were invited to join the SPACE FOODSPHERE consortium, a space food industry co-creation initiative using FVS methodologies. It focused on envisioning the lunar space food industry post-2040. We had illustrator JNTHED visualize the future concepts developed by numerous institutions and experts.

I often find that visual expression makes it easier to gain empathy—conversely, words alone can struggle to convey meaning. The theme of the future stimulates creative desire, and I was reminded how refreshing and enjoyable it is for viewers. Furthermore, rather than brainstorming alone, gathering experts from diverse fields with different perspectives allows ideas to expand significantly. I became convinced this would lead to outputs (works) impossible to achieve individually.

Sakaki: When people think of Pixiv illustrations, they might strongly associate them with specific genres like anime or manga. But in reality, there are illustrators who can depict diverse subjects like architecture or natural objects. The quality of Japanese illustrators is exceptionally high even compared globally, so I hope their opportunities expand into more fields. I also thought it would be great if we could successfully match them with our project.

Higashine: Illustrators are fundamentally creators, so many excel at creative thinking. If sharing future visions through FVS inspires more illustrators to want to participate in our projects, it would create a better cycle for the project itself.

Previously, an artist in Kyoto who works on the interiors and fusuma paintings of shrines and temples said, "I'm thinking about paintings that will be appreciated 40 or 50 years from now. I want to create challenging works, even if they aren't appreciated now." Religious paintings sometimes gain attention decades or centuries later, and works considered heretical at the time can later be accepted by society. With illustration too, I want to create work that stands the test of time, or even pioneer new history, and I believe FVS has that potential.

The key to innovation lies in integrating technologies from different fields

Sakaki: As mentioned earlier, Nagai-san, you've already assisted many companies with their future business development. What do you think is the key to moving forward?

Nagai: It's not exactly the "reverse-engineering of technology" we discussed earlier, but rather how effectively you can incorporate insights and technologies from different fields. Observing open innovation, I feel collaborations between truly different fields are more likely to succeed. Companies in closely related fields often get bogged down in turf wars.

On the other hand, distant fields often speak different languages, making communication difficult. If we can bridge that gap through visualization, things could move forward rapidly.

Sakaki: In that sense, while FVS programs are fundamentally conducted within a single company, when visualizing the future, effectively incorporating technologies from other industries—like using Astamuse's database—and translating them into a picture might make it easier for the new venture to gain traction.

Nagai: As Sakaki-san shared in his OPEN MEALS experience, he persistently listened to experts from different fields with diverse cultures, sometimes exercising patience, and successfully brought things to a solid output. Few people can communicate like this with top researchers and engineers across various fields, and I believe that's precisely why this collaboration came about.

Sakaki: Thank you (laughs). That might be one of my traits. Ever since university, I've enjoyed going to hear researchers from different fields talk and then creating works based on that.

Finally, while FVS is a project about envisioning the future, do any of you have a personal future you'd like to see realized?

Higashine: I hope this project becomes a catalyst for a world where the value of illustration rises. Just as manga and otaku culture are sometimes treated as academic subjects or art, I want to elevate the value of illustration beyond what it is today. By envisioning the future, I want to expand the possibilities and appeal of illustration itself, conveying the charm of imagining and creating to more people.

Nagai: I work at a company that analyzes the future, but ultimately, I hope we reach a point where there's no need for people to predict the future. Instead, everyone becomes an active participant in realizing the future they want to see. A world where everyone proactively chooses the future they want to create and takes action to make it happen. That's the kind of world I envision.

Sakaki: I want to create a world where there are no barriers between "play" and "work." For example, in 2050, with a global population of 10 billion and lifespans reaching 100 years. Emerging nations will rise, literacy will be universally elevated, women's participation will accelerate, and the concept of retirement will disappear. The number of people able to work and the available working hours should explode. Meanwhile, AI and robots will have dramatically evolved and be collaborating with humans. At that time, people worldwide will contribute their "strengths" and "passions" to society, receive gratitude, and this alone will drive the world into a virtuous cycle. I fantasize about realizing a world driven by purpose. I plan to visualize this vision and share it on our owned media soon. Please look forward to it.