| THE AWARD |
| CATEGORIES |
| REGISTRATION |
| SUBMIT YOUR WORK |
| ENTRY INSTRUCTIONS |
| TERMS & CONDITIONS |
| PUBLICATIONS |
| DATES & FEES |
| METHODOLOGY |
| CONTACT |
| WINNERS |
| PRESS ROOM |
| GET INVOLVED |
| DESIGN PRIZE |
| DESIGN STORE |
| THE AWARD | JURY | CATEGORIES | REGISTRATION | PRESS | WINNERS | PUBLICATIONS | ENTRY INSTRUCTIONS |
Interview with Takanao Todo |
Home > Designer Interviews > Takanao Todo |
Editor Frank Scott (FS) from DesignPRWire has interviewed designer Takanao Todo (TT) for A’ Design Award and Competition. You can access the full profile of Takanao Todo by clicking here.
FS: Could you please tell us more about your art and design background? What made you become an artist/designer? Have you always wanted to be a designer?
TT: My origin began when I made a letter exchange with Tadao Ando. I sent him a question, and he replied me with a book and a letter saying, "Please find your answer by yourself". This was my primal confrontation to the design thinking. Since then, I am trying to find my own answer through design.
FS: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
TT: Takanao Todo Design provides various design service from architecture, ceramic to graphic design. The studio become active from 2019 onwards. It is a design studio collaborate with many expats to form more flexible formation of the team.
FS: What is "design" for you?
TT: Expression of joy in a framework of the design concept
FS: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
TT: I enjoy designing hybridizing various scales from utensils, interior, facade, and operations. There are design in every scale, and they are inseparable.
FS: What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
TT: Something that is beyond my understanding, which makes it difficult to interpret into a form of words. Examples chairs by Shiro Kuramata has beautiful proportion, and ephemeral appearance. When I sit on his chair, there is a kind of sensation like floating, or dream-like, but words are never enough to capture this sensation.
FS: What was the first thing you designed for a company?
TT: Pavilion @ ECO park in Bangalore, India, is my first major project by winning the competition. It is a pavilion located in the center of the new business park complex. The structure was made of hollow steel structure with stainless cables to suspend screens. This project gives me a good courage to stand up as an independent designer.
FS: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
TT: My favorite material is the ceramic. All outcomes look different, and I love the part that we cannot control it 100%, thus working with wild nature in material. I enjoy sharing design through various social network platforms. I also enjoy both cutting edge robotic technology in ceramic making to traditional firing technique. I am currently seeking for a way to combine these 2 together.
FS: When do you feel the most creative?
TT: There is always a moment of eureka, or god of design, when I seek for the inspiration. It comes randomly. I try not to design unless I get this moment. And I try to have various kind of activities, like walking, swimming, visiting museums, watching movie, as I do not have a control in this eureka moment.
FS: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
TT: Material fabrication, and its assembly system
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
TT: Joy
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
TT: More joy, especially random people appreciate the outcome, and the best moment is when they use them in unexpected way!
FS: What makes a design successful?
TT: Some level of the involvement from the client in making is essential. This makes design withstand in time.
FS: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
TT: In architecture, plan, then section must excite me. In ceramic, there must be a sense of rightness which avoid being boring.
FS: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
TT: Longlisting design, and this derives from the involvement of the users.
FS: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
TT: Digital tools, and robotics help to expand our expression, and we should be optimistic to these emerging technologies.
FS: When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?
TT: "Post Wabi" ceramic exhibition in Japan Creative Center in Singapore 2023 January. There will be another ceramic exhibition coming in June 2024 in Bangkok with the same title.
FS: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
TT: Every classic design is my inspirations. But, I also gain inspiration from other fields such as cuisine, movie, music, fashion, manga, anime, so on. Rather than relaxing, I always try to get different stimulations, which feed my ideas.
FS: How would you describe your design style? What made you explore more this style and what are the main characteristics of your style? What's your approach to design?
TT: I am not sure about the style, critical regionalism could be close to what I do. I love bold, simple, integrated, direct approach to the local unique context with narrative, while respecting the material as an expression. I would also like to make my design flexible, so that the users can determine how to interact with it.
FS: Where do you live? Do you feel the cultural heritage of your country affects your designs? What are the pros and cons during designing as a result of living in your country?
TT: I am based in Bangkok. But, majority of my inspiration coming from Japan. Living in Bangkok helps to respect Japanese design legacy in an objective way. Bangkok is also a great place to actualize ideas with cheap labor and material, with many opportunities.
FS: How do you work with companies?
TT: I only work with private client.
FS: What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?
TT: designer can do creative interpretation of the brand would be a good desinger.
FS: Can you talk a little about your design process?
TT: After understanding the requirement, it needs some moment to get the right idea. Depends on a type of the project, I gather appropriate team for the project. Frequent visit to in progress work for deciding the details. After completion, making frequent visit to make sure that projects are growing with the users.
FS: What are 5 of your favorite design items at home?
TT: - Photography by Otsuji Seiji - Tea Bowl by Lucie Rie in collaboration with Mingei Artist - Bowl by Shoji Hamada - Art work by Justine Lee with my tea bowl - My own tea bowl
FS: Can you describe a day in your life?
TT: Wake up around 0600am with Matcha at tatami floor Take train to the workplace, while reading books by Haruki Murakami Eating spicy lunch for stimulation. Drink Sparkling Manao for refreshment after work. 45 minutes gym and swimming pool exercise. Making simple fusion pasta for dinner. Either work, watch movie, or reading. Sleep around 2300pm
FS: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
TT: Build real experiences
FS: From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?
TT: Designer is a profession comes with joy. Sometimes monetizing is not easy, thus good to do multiple works.
FS: What is your "golden rule" in design?
TT: It must be understood to majority of people at first glance, which I call it "direct approach"
FS: What skills are most important for a designer?
TT: inspiration, and physicalizing idea
FS: Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?
TT: most of sources are inside my head. Sketching, model making, and computer modelling helps to give some idea. Especially computer modelling with a good understanding of proportion, can be a strong tool to test ideas.
FS: Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
TT: Take a good rest after a big work to prepare for the next one.
FS: How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?
TT: Depends on the scale, client, budget, so on...
FS: What is the most frequently asked question to you, as a designer?
TT: not that I can think about...
FS: What was your most important job experience?
TT: Working at Jean Nouvel gave me many inspiring design concept such as "indication and seduction". His firm helped me to build my thinking a lot.
FS: Who are some of your clients?
TT: Tea enthusiast, Craftsman, and Ministry of culture
FS: What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?
TT: Small pavilions, which can examine the idea easily, and can change the way how people involve with the space. I also have a control in every detail including the afterlife of the pavilions.
FS: What are your future plans? What is next for you?
TT: Design something less ephemeral, such as designing small museum or a house with integration of crafts.
FS: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?
TT: I always work with team. Especially lighting designer, and landscape designer.
FS: Do you have any works-in-progress being designed that you would like to talk about?
TT: The prism pavilion built for the Bangkok Design Week 2024, received a good media exposure. Client is asking to reconstruct this in Morocco.
FS: How can people contact you?
TT: Through email please
FS: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?
TT: n.a.
FS: Thank you for providing us with this opportunity to interview you.
A’ Design Award and Competitions grants rights to press members and bloggers to use parts of this interview. This interview is provided as it is; DesignPRWire and A' Design Award and Competitions cannot be held responsible for the answers given by participating designers.
Press Members: Register and login to request a custom interview with Takanao Todo.
| SOCIAL |
| + Add to Likes / Favorites | Send to My Email | Comment | Testimonials |
