JPEN

DESIGNER WATARU SATO

佐藤 渉 WATARU SATO
INTERVIEW

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PROFILE

2003
Joined Comany Inc.
2014
Joined DE-SIGN INC.
佐藤 渉 WATARU SATO
When did you first become interested in working in design? What led to you start working in office design?
I’ve been fascinated by interior design since I was in high school, and my first job was with a design office that mainly worked on residential designs. Later, as I worked on designs for facilities such as stores and clinics, I began to work more in interior design than architecture, and that’s when I became interested in the field of office design and decided to change companies. Back then, I never expected that this would be the job that I worked at the longest (laughs). I’ve been working in this field for almost 15 years, even though when I started I saw it as a way to broaden my own skills by taking on another genre.
Did anything change inside you as you went from being an assistant designer to a lead designer?
Honesty, I don’t think so. As an assistant, I was always looking around to see what I could add in any situation, so that I would be valued as an assistant. I tried not to miss a chance to add something to the conversation at the right time. As I observed the work of the designers and project managers around me, I tried to copy their techniques as much as I could. Since my time as an assistant, I have considered it very important to think from the same point of view as people active in the front lines of business. This is something that the staff of DE-SIGN INC. is able to do.
佐藤 渉 WATARU SATO
Of the projects you have worked on through now, which made the biggest impression on you?
Since no two projects are the same, I think each has made an impression in its own way. But one that I recall in particular was when I was in charge of the account for a foreign company that operates the world’s largest travel site. In the preliminary stages of the design, a photograph used on the cover of the proposal served as guidance for the project. It showed the start of a trip, with luggage packed on top of a yellow car. I chose it because it evoked an enjoyable travel experience. The client too seemed to be impressed by the image, using it on the cover every time, and ultimately we placed a vintage car that looked just like the one in the photo in the office entrance. I was happy to be able to continue sharing the same image as the client all the way to the goal.
What are you especially particular about in doing your work?
I am very particular about the little details of a project. I have tried to produce designs in which one can get a feel for their advantages by actually using them, even if they do not seem so clear at first glance. This is something that I have been particular about for a long time, in part because I first started working in the field of architecture. While I don’t explain this in detail to the client, people can notice it when they look at a design. I would like to keep making designs like that in the future too.

MY WAY OF THINKING

Designing through thinking from the same point of view as the client.

In my work, I value thinking about and communicating everything from the same point of view as the client. While this may seem obvious, instead of working on the design alone simply as a designer, I think about things like what is needed at certain times and when are the best times to use certain elements, so that my proposals are based on identifying what truly is necessary. I believe that repeating this process leads to trust.

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