PATTAYA – He’s dubbed as one of the top creative directors in Japan. Probably, one of the humblest ones, too after he quickly shrugged it off when we told him that. He was complaining of an aching back but he granted adobo magazine a few minutes to tell us about his experience as a Design and Print Craft jury president at ADFEST and a little bit about what he likes to do during his spare time (Clue: not much).
1. He has been working for Dentsu Inc. Tokyo for 16 years.
2. He played basketball and did gymnastics back in high school.
3. Yoshi has no hobbies at all. “On Sundays, I stay in my room and do absolutely nothing.”
4. He gets creative inspiration by talking to people and looking at nice views. “I take a taxi and talk to the driver. It seems small but in my mind, it grows into an idea.”
5. He loves Studio Ghibli films. “Every year Studio Ghibli announces new work and each time it helps me expand my imagination.”
6. Yoshi used to play in a band with his high school classmates. “We copied The Beatles.”
7. ‘Get Back Tohoku’ is his favorite work. He has been working on this campaign promoting the Northern part of Japan for five years already. “With this campaign, I am able to receive direct reaction from people. It’s almost like having a dialogue with the viewers and himself. That kind of work means a lot to me.”
8. He doesn’t have a favorite artist. “I believe me!” He joked.
9. Every year, Yoshihiro works on the One Show and D&AD Exhibitions in Japan.
10. He believes that good art directors have a good mind and good hands. The work that the hands do, can surpass whatever a person has in mind. “Sometimes magic happens and the hands outplay the mind.”
More importantly, Yoshi hopes that more people can start to enjoy and appreciate design. For him, designs are not just posters and art. There are a lot of things that we use in our daily lives that we don’t realize are made up of beautiful designs. Design is a bigger concept than advertising. It’s something for everyone.
Watch out for Yoshihiro Yagi’s full profile on the May-June 2016 issue of adobo magazine.
