Interviews mit Tomohiro Kaji

I started my career as a graphic designer, and became an internal-creative team leader as well as senior marketing manager.

I have 3 huge inspirations in my life. The first one is by my grandfather who was a calligrapher. He had been drawing calligraphies mixing letters and any shape by painting or paper material. Often he had made sculptures. The second one is some advertisings created by John C Jay. He has been a huge inspiration for me, always. Lastly, El Lissitzky. His graphic designs shocked me out from a ob of typical poster design. Their art inspired me to become a designer.

And I learned a graphic design at Academy of Art University in San Francisco, US.

Trying help making a good product or business for client. And design how good they are to the world.

Climbing on a huge mountain with steps one by one.

An experience as a creative director and marketing manager as a in-house creator so I learned how to bridge good creative and business.

Business growth of my company as a creative agency for global good clients.

Always ask if it is the best for for them, and for you.

There is no success or failure. It is just a part of a process and just keep going to where you really want to go.

Design is in a matter of process. Good design always comes at the end of result.

If there is no more explorations for a client and for me.

John C Jay

Educating clients to be a good for their customers as well as for society.

This is the first time.

I have 3 huge inspirations in my life. The first one is by my grandfather who was a calligrapher. He had been drawing calligraphies mixing letters and any shape by painting or paper material. Often he had made sculptures. The second one is some advertisings created by John C Jay. He has been a huge inspiration for me, always. Lastly, El Lissitzky. His graphic designs shocked me out from a ob of typical poster design. Their art inspired me to become a designer.

TMDCH Ltd is an independent creative agency focusing in branding started from 2019. Our uniqueness is we are a hybrid of an award wining design studio and a branding agency which builds a creative strategy committing on business growth.

Design means an inevitable and inspirational result from a creative process based on a rational choice with clients.

Building and designing brand strategy and identity system including launching program for a good client to become a great brand.

Producing an all sustainable restaurant, called Nœud. TOKYO. It is one of a remarkable project I had been led at the beginning of my company building from strategy, team and its execution with a great result to the client as well as they have been earning the Michelin Star for 3 years after the launch.

Nœud. TOKYO

Material—Physical materials such as wood, rock, paper and soil used for space design, especially relevant ones with its business and its location.

Finding a better solution than before, especially facing any complicated issue / challenge.

Process for the best solution for clients' success.

Climbing on a huge mountain with steps one by one.

Never leave a client or their business’ growth behind especially the design fells great.

A great relationship with its client.

If it is unique enough to get a strong attention.

Work and contribute to a good client for society and environment. If not, educate them to be so. Or leave from the project.

Wether we like it or not, AI and new technology push us out from existing roll like steam power or computer have done. The more technology evolving, the more our creativity become important for making a better world.

Culture and people are the great sources of inspirations.

What's your approach to design?

Inspirational design that contributes a business growth. We bridge business strategy and creative strategy so the design works for them.

In Japan, there are so many cultural, historical aspects behind us. It inspires a lot as well as new technology and digital solutions. There are also a critical issues are in front of us. Especially, aging and luck of human resources are really critical. Some of Japanese don’t realize, or don’t want realize it.

I will be a CEO counterpart to discuss their business strategy and creative strategy with building an appropriate creative team to execute their creative programs.

Please produce a good product and be a good client. And good designers will come to the company.

Discussing product or business model to understand how unique and how good enough in a market or a society with unique. If it is not yet, we start improving it before design.

A book designed by John C Jay. A kitchen knife shaped by MASAMUNE. A calligraphy by my grand father. A Russian poster designed by Stenberg brothers. A jacket and pants designed by Keizo Shimizu. Rolex Date Just.

Always ask if it is the best for for them, and for you.

You will inspire the world with good clients, or you will just make garbages.

Never stop studying until you are happy.

Speed and imagination

Sketchbook, a fountain pen, laptop PC, some white copy paper, and EarPods.

Work as a team with people, and with a good project manager to identify what I am supposed to do by when.

It depends on how complex the object to be solved is.

Any experiences I failed.

My company's growth as a global creative agency.

Both. But. I will do less by myself for education.

Yes. But, I cannot by October 2024.

By e-mail: info@tomodachiltd.com or message via instagram.

Philosophical Foundation: JINThe project established JIN (benevolence), a Confucian virtue, as its central philosophical framework. Rooted in the ethical principles of the Akizuki clan that once governed Takanabe, this concept aimed not merely to restore the physical structure but to reconstruct the civic and moral values embedded within the region’s historical context. By integrating JIN into spatial composition and information design, the project re-contextualized historical ethics as a contemporary civic principle, transforming an abstract virtue into a tangible social form through design.

Acrylic Panels and the Red GradientThe acrylic panels depicting successive lords and their policies were designed to visualize the temporal continuity inherited across generations. Through the use of transparent acrylic with a red gradient, the design enables visitors to perceive the accumulation of time as overlapping layers of varying density. This visual system allows history to be understood not as a collection of discrete events but as an interconnected chain of succession and transformation. The gradation of color symbolizes the deepening of collective memory over time.

Exhibition Design under ConstraintsFaced with limited archival materials and a restricted budget, the project emphasized narrative construction through graphic and spatial design. Controlled use of light, texture, and typographic hierarchy allowed for an immersive experience without dependence on artifact volume. Minimal visual language and rhythmic sequencing compensated for material scarcity, promoting intellectual focus and emotional engagement. This approach demonstrates how spatial semiotics can serve as an effective interpretive strategy in heritage presentation.

Balancing Historical Authenticity and Contemporary InterpretationThe design sought to preserve historical authenticity while ensuring accessibility for contemporary audiences. Rather than reproducing traditional motifs or materials, the design extracted and restructured their underlying geometries and compositional rhythms. The combination of wood and acrylic materials symbolizes permanence and transparency—representing a dialogue between the past and the present. This dual structure allows the museum to function both as a site of preservation and as a civic platform for reconstructing local identity.

Influence of Creative Direction ExperiencePrior experience in brand and communication design informed the exhibition framework. Methods such as structural hierarchy, editorial rhythm, and narrative sequencing were applied to ensure coherence across graphic, spatial, and textual layers. The exhibition was organized as a narrative structure—introduction, development, and reflection—allowing educational content to be received as both intellectual and affective experience.

Zoning and Spatial Sequence (Revised)The spatial composition was designed as a two-level structure: the first floor dedicated to historical archives and the second to narrative exhibition. The first level introduces factual materials and chronological data, while the second transitions visitors into a more immersive, story-driven experience through graphics, video, and installations. The zoning of themes—policy, education, and community—was based on a psychological progression from observation to emotional immersion and comprehension. Subtle thresholds were introduced along the circulation path, enabling understanding through spatial rhythm rather than textual explanation.

Akizuki Taneshige’s Governance and the SDGsResearch on the seventh lord, Akizuki Taneshige, revealed governance principles consistent with contemporary sustainability values, such as forest management, public education, and equitable water distribution. These policies were compared with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), highlighting structural parallels between early modern administration and present sustainability frameworks. Infographics were employed to visualize these correspondences, presenting historical governance as a prototype for sustainable regional management.

Implications for Other Cultural InstitutionsThe project demonstrates that regional museums can achieve revitalization through clear narrative frameworks and participatory processes, even under economic constraints. Collaboration among historians, designers, and municipal officials redefined the museum from a static preservation site to a communicative cultural infrastructure. This case provides a model for integrating heritage conservation with community engagement, positioning design as a medium for cultural regeneration.

Future DevelopmentFuture plans envision the museum as an interdisciplinary platform connecting education, regional culture, and industry. The focus will shift from quantitative expansion of exhibits to qualitative deepening through participatory programs. Collaborations with local producers and educational institutions will link the exhibition to regional economies and cultural practices, ensuring its sustainability as a dynamic public resource that continues to generate relevance over time.

Archival Discoveries and Their ImpactArchival research uncovered letters from local farmers expressing gratitude for Akizuki’s administrative reforms. These documents provide primary evidence of the reciprocal relationship between governance and community. Incorporating these materials reoriented the exhibition from a ruler-centered narrative to one that includes the perspective of ordinary citizens. This reframing introduced the concept of mutual recognition as a foundation for social cohesion, offering a new interpretive model for historical exhibitions.