People have their ideas and perspectives, and each has their inspirations and roots from the past. Although those episodes may appear random at a glance, dots connect to lines and somehow link to what they do now. Different people have different roots and do different designs, and we are here to realize that in “Diggin’ Roots”.

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This time, we interviewed Ouji Miyahara, who has a diverse background as an event organizer and web designer and is now the VP of Product Design at SmartHR.

Ouji Miyahara VP of Product Design at SmartHR
After working at a web production company and a cloud accounting software firm, Ouji joined SmartHR in 2019. He oversees both the product design and accessibility teams, focusing on their growth and the creation of business impact. Starting in 2024, he formed a new team, the Product Design Planning Office, dedicated to enabling product designers and supporting the internal management of the design system.

1. What is your philosophy behind design?

 It’s crucial to me that my work makes money. As a designer, it can be difficult to see the direct connection between your output and its impact on the business. But at the end of the day, even for designers, a company’s revenue is what pays our salaries. If you can’t explain the relationship between design and business, the value of both design and design will steadily decline. That’s why I make sure to maintain accountability and consistency in my design output and team structure.

Another reason designers may struggle to engage with the business side is that, in the past, we often avoided explaining our creative intentions by simply attributing them to a “natural sense of design.” For me, proving design’s value through business impact and logic is a way to counteract that trend.

At SmartHR, my subtle goal is to eliminate the need for designers. Creating what’s expected is something anyone can do, but only when you go beyond that and take full responsibility for your decisions does a designer’s true expertise come into play. In essence, design is something that any role can handle. At SmartHR, our designers don’t just contribute specialized design output to the development team; they empower the whole team to produce high-quality designs. I aim to reach a point where, even without a designer, our teams can still deliver top-notch interfaces.

２. What are your ways of boosting productivity?

Something that turned out to be really beneficial was buying and renovating our home. From past experiences, I knew that I wasn’t comfortable with spaces that felt too homely or had a natural interior style, so I designed it to be the complete opposite. Since our work is fully remote, the living environment is especially important.

The theme for our renovation was a mortuary. Both my wife and I like a minimalist, almost clinical style of interior design, and we wanted to eliminate any trace of everyday life from our home. I also drew inspiration from installations by fashion designer Carol Christian Poell, who uses abandoned factories and decayed buildings as rugged, worn-out venues. We conveyed this vision to our contractors, and they executed it perfectly. Now, my wife, our pets, and I are living happily in the space we envisioned.

I also have a favorite item: a Rick Owens bunny-shaped mini bag that I use to hold my office access card. It has a small compartment in its belly, just big enough for my cigarettes and the access card, but I love how cute it is. Adding little things like this that I enjoy into my daily life helps lift my spirits a bit.

３. Who has been your greatest influence?

One person who has had a significant impact on me is Anton LaVey, the founder of LaVeyan Satanism.

When people hear “Satanism,” they often imagine something occult or devil-worshiping, but LaVeyan Satanism doesn’t acknowledge the existence of either God or the devil. There are no strange rituals or spiritual teachings involved.

Instead, it’s an antithesis to the Christian concept of “original sin,” advocating for living freely. In Christianity, the idea of original sin suggests that people are inherently sinful from birth and should live a life of atonement. LaVey’s perspective is different—he teaches that humans are naturally occurring beings, so we should acknowledge our desires. However, if everyone acted purely on their desires, society would fall apart. That’s why it’s important to confront your desires sincerely while also ensuring that they are socially acceptable. Social acceptance means showing respect for others’ desires and eccentricities as well. Respecting desires and striving for a richer life have become part of my guiding philosophy.

I even bring this up in interviews, asking candidates about their desires and egos. I believe that if you’re not in touch with your own desires, you might end up disregarding the desires of others.

Another person who has greatly influenced me is Gautama Siddhartha, also known as Buddha. During a time when I was struggling with mental health, one of the books recommended by my doctor was on Buddhism. While Buddha himself doesn’t appear in the stories, the teachings convey that as long as we have a human brain, we are creatures of imagination and cannot escape desire. It’s our imagination that often causes us mental pain, and the teachings encourage us to use reason to observe our thoughts objectively.

For example, if you’re tormented by the thought that you’ve hurt someone, you have to remember that you can’t truly know what the other person is feeling—those thoughts are just in your mind. This perspective was incredibly helpful to me when I was going through tough times at work and in personal relationships.

Buddhist monks engage in training in nature to separate these illusions from reality, and for me, running serves a similar purpose. When I run, it helps me realize that the things I’m obsessing over and what’s happening are two different things. By putting physical strain on my body, I can become more aware of this separation, so I make it a point to stay active.

4. Is there anything particular that might be the roots of your designs and ways of thinking?

When I was in elementary and middle school, I played around with HTML on Geocities, a free web hosting service. That experience might be what eventually led me to my current career. It was during that time that I first became interested in structuring visual elements.

Back then, I created review sites for death metal and black metal bands. I’ve always been a fan of that kind of music, and it all started when I was in elementary school. I borrowed Ozzy Osbourne’s album Blizzard of Ozz. The album cover features Ozzy holding a cross, wide-eyed, in what looks like a church. Coming from a strict, ascetic household, it seemed incredibly rebellious to me, and I thought, “This is cool.” That’s what led me to explore various death metal bands.

In addition, the apparel brand Carol Christian Poell has also influenced me in terms of craftsmanship. It’s what’s known as an artisan brand, one that doesn’t engage in commercial activities and takes an incredible amount of time to create clothes using methods you’ve never seen before. Their approach to making things isn’t driven by commercial limitations but by a strict adherence to aesthetics. They impose harsh constraints on themselves to create, and from that process, they produce these dark, gem-like new objects. I admire their ability to create something so unique and powerful. Since they can’t produce large quantities, the prices are high, but it motivates me to work hard to be able to afford them.

５. What were you into as a teenager?

During my teenage years, I was deeply involved in organizing club events and working as a hypnotist. The experience I gained in customer service and project management back then has definitely contributed to my current career.

Hypnosis involves a structured process to plant suggestions in the subject’s mind. It’s a step-by-step approach: you introduce one idea, then another, gradually guiding the person into a hypnotic state. The rapport-building techniques I learned through hypnosis are almost identical to those used in user interviews in UX design, and they’ve also been helpful in understanding the structure of design and HTML.

One of the club events I produced that became particularly popular was DENPA!!!, which started around 2007. My partner and I were really into breakcore and noise music, so we created an event that mixed those genres with anime music and samples, resulting in a chaotic, intense sound—DENPA!!! was born from that. As the event grew in popularity, more and more anime-related companies wanted to collaborate with us, which is when project management became necessary. That was my first real experience in project management.

Even in my current role, I’m still involved in organizing events, and I’ve carried over the desire to create interesting experiences through “planned dissonance,” a concept I developed during my days as an event organizer. Most of the events I organize now are related to recruitment, but I always aim to infuse them with an avant-garde touch that you wouldn’t typically see from other companies.

For example, in 2023, we held an event called Designers Mayhem! which featured a unique concept where adults engaged in heated arguments, culminating in a sumo match, all set in a venue inspired by professional wrestling. The idea of office workers arguing like this isn’t something you see every day, which in itself is entertaining, but the discussion topics were serious, so even those who came out of curiosity ended up finding something they could relate to. I plan to continue creating these “planned dissonance” experiences—events that may seem chaotic or unexpected but still offer valuable takeaways.

６. Are there any services that inspired you in terms of design?

One service that I think has really evolved and improved is the My Number Card system. I believe it’s become significantly better.

One of the most common issues with digital services is managing IDs and passwords. We often receive inquiries from our users saying they can’t log in.

Government services, in particular, face a wide range of users, which makes it especially challenging. The fact that they were able to implement a system that uses NFC to provide secure physical access for logging in is impressive, and I have a lot of respect for the team that made it happen.

Another service I’ve always liked is the National Tax Agency’s online platform for creating tax documents. It’s designed so that if you read it from top to bottom, you’ll definitely be able to complete your filing. Every year, they update the confusing areas, and they’ve managed to maintain this service for a long time. As a fellow service provider, I find this longevity and continuous improvement something to admire and strive for. I always keep an eye on the Digital Agency’s initiatives, and it’s commendable how they consistently aim to deliver ambitious and high-quality outputs within the government sector.

Current open positions at SmartHR:
・SmartHR Careers: Product Designer
・SmartHR Careers: Accessibility Specialist