We, as the Designer Interviews ("DI") had the distinct pleasure and opportunity to interview award-winning, most creative and innovative Masaki Hirokawa ("MH").
Born in 1981 in Toyama, Japan, Masaki Hirokawa is a versatile graphic designer and developer. Beginning his career in web design and programming at the age of 16, he moved to Tokyo in 1999 to specialize in web and desktop publishing design. By 2002, his expertise expanded to include system engineering and advanced programming. In 2005, Hirokawa embraced a freelance career, undertaking a variety of projects encompassing web design, graphic design, and interactive media. His exceptional talent earned him the Grand Prize in the Web Screensaver Category at the MTV SO-ZO Competition in 2006. From 2008 onwards, Hirokawa authored several reference books and contributed articles to graphic design magazines, further expanding his professional repertoire. In 2011, he ventured into video game development, utilizing his technical and artistic skills. By 2013, he successfully entered the smartphone app market, with one of his apps achieving over 20 million downloads and maintaining a global user base of over 3 million active users. Rediscovering his passion for graphic design in 2019, Hirokawa began exhibiting his work internationally, from Italy to the United Kingdom and beyond. His artistic prowess was recognized in 2022 when he was named “ARTIST OF THE YEAR 2021” by the ITSLIQUID Group. Currently, he continues to integrate his graphic design expertise with his flourishing app business, constantly innovating and captivating a global audience.
Masaki Hirokawa Designs
We are pleased to share with you original and innovative design work by Masaki Hirokawa.
Masaki Hirokawa Design - Peace Photo Collage
Designer Interview of Masaki Hirokawa:
DI: 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?
MH : I lost my beloved grandfather when I was 16 years old, and I found myself designing on the anniversary of his death. My grandfather was a palace carpenter. After that, I became interested in programming and made interactive movies, but in 2019, I went back to my roots and started pursuing graphic art expression. It's been 24 years since I was 16 years old, but I'm starting to regain the feeling I had when I was younger.
DI: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
MH : I have been developing applications for smartphones as a sole proprietorship for the past 8 years. I resumed graphic production in 2019. Currently, I have released a total of 8 iPhone/Android apps, with a total of over 20 million downloads. I pay sales tax to the government, and I am considering incorporating our company in the next fiscal year.
DI: What is "design" for you?
MH : To manipulate a person's eyes. Nowadays, it means to manipulate a person's fingers. In short, it is reading people's minds. Design is done with the mind.
DI: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
MH : I am fascinated by Surrealist art. Modern science has already proven the extra dimension, and is closing in on those arts. I believe that the time has come for art, science and religion to be integrated.
DI: What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
MH : I like Leonor Fini's paintings best. I admire her for leaving the Surrealist art movement and establishing her own art.
DI: What was the first thing you designed for a company?
MH : I started my own business and delivered web design when I was 18 years old.
DI: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
MH : Photography / Digital / Photo Collage
DI: When do you feel the most creative?
MH : This is when you feel connected to God, the loneliness disappears, and your hands move automatically to work. The ego cannot exist there.
DI: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
MH : It is considered complete when the light is overflowing. My work is at its peak when the color information disappears and all I see is light.
DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
MH : Elation, sadness, loneliness, happiness, gratitude, and love.
DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
MH : I am happy to be alive. I am grateful that all my negative emotions have been sublimated and I have been able to live.
DI: What makes a design successful?
MH : It is a design that reaches people's hearts and purifies their minds. It is a design that gives love and inspiration to people.
DI: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
MH : I focus on whether the design is needed by the world. What I don't focus on is my own personal desires. On the other hand, what I don't focus on is my own personal needs.
DI: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
MH : It is to face the pain of the world without panic even in an emergency situation, and to sublimate it into one's own work while absorbing it.
DI: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
MH : I think it lays the foundation for anyone to become a creative person. The ideal world is one where everyone is an artist.
DI: When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?
MH : The last time I participated in a group exhibition was in Ginza, Tokyo, Japan in 2009. Since then, I haven't made any graphic art for 10 years. In the future, I would like to exhibit my work anywhere in the world where there is a need for it.
DI: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
MH : For example, inspiration does not come to us because we have these feelings, but when we consider the scale of our need for the world. What I try to do is to keep my body clean and to go to shrines, churches, and the air of nature.
DI: 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?
MH : I have received feedback from viewers that they feel "comfortable" and "warm" with my graphics. My style can be light or dark, and conceptual, based on 100% inspiration.
DI: 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?
MH : I live in Japan, where there are many different cultures and four seasons. This is probably the best environment for me to express my multifaceted nature and to receive a wide variety of inspirations.
DI: How do you work with companies?
MH : I do not take work from any company and continue to work independently. I make what I want to make, what people in the world need.
DI: What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?
MH : It is good to hire a company that will promote your company's branding and not just focus on the superficial design.
DI: Can you talk a little about your design process?
MH : First retouch the material, then collage it, and add various corrections. I don't complete the work here, but start from there.
DI: What are 5 of your favorite design items at home?
MH : Angel goods, good luck charms from shrines, lighting equipment, Mac Pro, pen tablets.
DI: Can you describe a day in your life?
MH : When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I do is pray to the altar, check my work report, get ready for the morning, work, check my report again in the evening, pray to the altar, and go to bed.
DI: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
MH : It seems to me that it is not about using the tools, but about creating them. I think the most precious thing is to build an environment where young people who will come after us can devote themselves to creation more comfortably.
DI: From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?
MH : The positive side of being a designer is that you can enjoy the fun of making things so much that you forget about your personal life. The downside is that your private life is also a part of your work.
DI: What is your "golden rule" in design?
MH : "Rhythms and vibrations. The more I get into creating, the less I can distinguish colors, and the more I can only see light. In this situation, what I rely on is the rhythm backed by my senses. In the first place, color is a shadow of light.
DI: What skills are most important for a designer?
MH : It's a feeling. I think it is the ability to read r-waves while relying on the other end of the sense of touch.
DI: Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?
MH : The software used during the design process is Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop. Hardware used is Mac Pro and Intuos Pro. When creating graphics, I always chant Mandoora and touch the "Akabeko", an ancient Japanese red cow figurine.
DI: Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
MH : I register my appointments in the Reminders app on my Mac, I don't leave any tasks for the next day, and if time is available, I move up next week's appointments to this week. I start working at a certain time and always stop working at 6pm in the evening.
DI: How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?
MH : I need 24 hours at the earliest and 3 weeks or more at the latest. There is still instability and variability.
DI: What is the most frequently asked question to you, as a designer?
MH : "What is the meaning of this?" It is. To that, I can always answer. The nominated works are the most difficult to explain.
DI: What was your most important job experience?
MH : What was important was my experience as a DTP operator, a system engineer building core systems, a web designer building rich content, and my ongoing experience in application development.
DI: Who are some of your clients?
MH : Our business partners, Apple and Google, are very rich in heart and soul.
DI: What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?
MH : I like the work that I do the most, from start to finish, from design to development to marketing and promotion, all of it.
DI: What are your future plans? What is next for you?
MH : I want to build a more comfortable environment for young artists and creators to create. So I'm distributing all my source files. I hope that in the future, all people will be able to create.
DI: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?
MH : I do my own design work.
DI: Do you have any works-in-progress being designed that you would like to talk about?
MH : I still want to create better works and I believe that I am just at the starting line.
DI: How can people contact you?
MH : I get a lot of inquiries via email, Instagram and Facebook.
DI: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?
MH : I can't think of any at the moment.