Aya Codama

I majored in graphic design at Tokyo Zokei University, where I attended a seminar held by the graphic designer Kan Akita. Following graduation, I worked at the design firm AWATSUJI Design for 7 years, and founded BULLET Inc. in 2013.

I first learned the concept of graphic design from a teacher at the art school I attended to prepare for university. I had been a student who simply liked to draw pictures, but there I realized that design is not something superficial, but to think about the true nature of things. I probably wouldn’t have become a designer if I hadn’t met him.

I chose to. I thought hard about different options before deciding my first job: I was also offered positions in sales and systems engineering. But getting to know different job areas helped me realize that design was what I really wanted to do, and I made up my mind to learn more about design at a firm whose works I really liked.

I work across a wide range of categories, including package design, logo design, CI planning, web design, and book design. I have extensive knowledge on types of paper and printing techniques, but I don’t limit the genres I work in.

It’s hard to think of myself as a design legend, but my idea of a design legend is someone who can offer a “unique” best solution. I guess it’s important to know what you like and don’t like, and to pursue your own style.

A good designer can offer the right solution to a given situation. In addition to that, a great designer can make proposals that reach beyond people’s imaginations.

I think good design is not just a beautiful “form” but the visualization of a “message”. When a company assigns a designer to a project (for advertisement, packaging, etc.), it is entrusting the designer with the important mission of “conveying” the company’s message.

It’s actually very hard as a designer to assume that I “had the time,” but I’d like to design some kind of daily item to give to my parents, who might not fully understand what a designer’s job is about.

Someday I’d like to collaborate with professionals (photographers, copywriters, etc.) I have admired over many years.

It’s not a secret nor an interesting answer, but I think the key is “not to compromise.”

There are many, including Kaoru Kasai, Yoshihisa Shirai, Makoto Saito, Tamotsu Yagi, Eiko Ishioka, Masayoshi Kodaira, and Masayoshi Nakajo. I’m encouraged by their way of having their own philosophy and design style.

The 1964 Tokyo Olympics posters by Yusaku Kamekura. I was a teenager without much understanding of design when I first saw them, but I remember feeling proud to be Japanese. The 1983 HIROSHIMA APPEALS poster by Yusaku Kamekura. Butterflies with different patterns are burning down in this image, which reminded me of each precious life that was lost. It took my breath away. The 2016 HIROSHIMA APPEALS poster by Kaoru Kasai. Its theme is the same as the one above, but the approach is totally different. Simple black and white lines (without dramatized effect) looked like a natural sketch of the people who lived in that era and people who live today. I was at a loss for words.

The bottle design for TY NANT mineral water. I came across it in a magazine when I was studying design at an art school to prepare for university. I’ve been a fan of it ever since. The bottle shape directly resembles the flow of water, conveying the water’s clarity and product’s high quality, and even the company’s esprit. The desire to communicate beyond language like this product is the basis of my ideal design.

I think you should have a sense of professionalism and always be curious when seeing, absorbing and digesting things in your mind (the same can probably be said for chefs and doctors). In particular, as design exists in a social context, I think it is important to grasp trends and what people are thinking, and express your response to them in an original way.

I’d probably still be doing something creative (maybe creating music or manga).

I think it is both “a creative activity closely linked to society” and “a way to solve problems”.

Among my teachers at art school and university, my bosses, and designers of the same generation, especially those who criticized my work (in a supportive way).