People have their own ideas and perspectives, and each have their own inspirations and roots from the past. Although those episodes may appear to be random at 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”.

・・・

This time, we will explore the creative roots of Sonoka Sagara, who enjoys embodying creativity and innovation, with a strong dedication to her creation.

Sonoka Sagara ｜ Designer

After being involved in the art direction and project management of FabCafe at Loftwork Inc., Sonoka worked as a freelancer before joining Mercari Inc. in 2018. She was in charge of the company’s branding after working in the research and development organization “R4D.” Since 2021, she has been with Takram, leading the design festival “Featured Projects.” She is dedicated to realizing and advancing creative and open spaces both personally and professionally.

1. What is your philosophy behind design?

I always keep in mind Steve Jobs’ quote, “Real artists ship.” This phrase is said by Jobs during the development of the first Macintosh. I also place great importance on this concept of “shipping.”

Naturally, I have the opposite personality, being the type who is overly concerned about small details. Back in my university days, I was even called “factory manager” by my friends because I was so strict about inspecting the accessories we made to sell for the cultural festival.

However, after all, what’s the point of creating something if you don’t put it out into the world? No matter how much you improve something, if it’s not out there, it doesn’t exist. When I was developing an app privately, I experienced frustration when someone else released something similar before me while I was still making improvements, and I couldn’t secure the trademark. Such experiences have made “ship” an important keyword for me.

But, it’s not just about putting it out there; of course, I always want to release things in the best possible state. Focusing on the details in creating something is a given in the first place. It’s a basic premise, not just a focus. Understanding my own personality in this way, I consciously aim to ship, present, and release my work.

What I do to achieve this is to turn it into a project and set deadlines. Even when working on something with friends privately, we set regular weekly meetings to share progress, decide on the next actions, and create an atmosphere of commitment. Creating an atmosphere of commitment is a crucial aspect, so we take it quite seriously.

When things seem unclear, I create something that the other person can visualize, just to make it visible. That way, motivation also increases. Putting something out into the world is shipping, and showing it to team members is also shipping. Creating and putting out work is a cycle of repetition.

In reality, if I don’t produce output in a project I’m working on with someone, it not only nullifies the other person’s portfolio but also eliminates potential opportunities for the future. I want to avoid attributing things the other person did for myself.
When you put your work out into the world, you may receive unexpected reactions and be able to evolve based on them. Putting your work out there is a very interesting thing. It’s a waste to leave tangible creations sitting in a warehouse.

２. What are your ways of boosting productivity?

I make use of scripts. When I find myself doing the same task about three times with tools like Illustrator or Google Sheets, I inevitably think, “There must be a way to streamline this process.” I often use scripts from 3flab and continue to automate tasks using them. I sometimes peek at how my friends work and advise “You can do that with this script”.

One advantage of scripts is that they reduce human errors. I’ve always thought, “Why should humans have to do the same task over and over again?” I also enjoy creating systems, and I have a sense of respect for engineers who can create systems.

In my case, work is something that progresses once you start, and to make progress, simply starting the work is enough for me. Once I sit down, I immediately immerse myself and keep going, and I may actually struggle with taking breaks… Therefore, I place importance on incorporating various systems for resting to not elevate my mood but rather to calm it down.

One of these systems is changing the lighting for me. At 5 p.m., the lighting in the entire room automatically switches from daylight to warm light. Another is using scents to switch to relaxation mode, where I burn my favorite natural incense. I also enjoy agarwood and sometimes burn it directly on charcoal to savor the woody aroma.

These bring me back to living. Furthermore, starting from primitive practices like exposing to the morning sun to release serotonin, I make sure to do things properly. Perhaps living healthily in this way is the most crucial aspect of making progress in work.

３. Who has been your greatest influence?

I have been influenced by so many people that it’s hard to narrow it down to just one, but if I had to choose someone from the perspective of exploring expression, it would be the Dutch graphic designer Karel Martens. He has been continuously exploring color and form in a playful manner. Even before the era of computers and software development as we know it today, he has been someone who enjoys innovating within constraints and continuously seeking rich and new forms of expression.

I also enjoy exploring simple subjects like color and form, and I have a Risograph printer in my studio. This printer is like a digital version of traditional printmaking, capable of printing only one color at a time. So, if you want to print in color, you need to separate it into CMYK and layer the colors four times.

But the beauty of this process is being able to endlessly explore combinations of colors and shapes. What’s wonderful about Karel is that he has been enjoying this exploration of visual expression for a long time. Things that may appear as mere collections of colors and shapes can look like letters or shapes from a distance, or how ink rubbed today might appear in a different color when it dries tomorrow, or what happens when you layer colors on top of each other… He continues to experiment with these aspects.

In fact, I am also developing a color collection app privately. It’s an app where you can collect and save colors from everyday scenes and photos, something that I personally wanted. You can also save location information and timelines, allowing you to see the transition of where and what colors you were seeing in a particular year.

For example, when you travel abroad, you might notice differences in the colors of the sky and light. Instead of the accuracy of pixels, I wanted to collect the colors I saw with my own eyes. The app was created for that purpose. When life gets busy, we may forget to capture colors or even stop noticing the scenery. However, having a color palette made from these collected colors can sometimes inspire me to think, “Let’s create the next design based on these colors.” I believe that people who can enjoy the beauty, colors, and shapes they encounter in their daily lives are truly wonderful. I have been greatly influenced by Karel in terms of properly observing the things in our everyday lives.

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

There are two things. One is the NHK E-Tele (*a Japanese TV channel) program “Tsukutte Asobo (means “Let’s make and play”)” which I watched in my childhood. The character Wakuwaku-san, who appeared on this show, was like a fun mentor in creating things, and I used to imitate him by making various items. Wakuwaku-san used everyday items like toilet paper rolls and paper cups for his creations, and I even got scolded for using up all the toilet paper at home back then.

Most of the things I made were given to my mom and the people around me. I loved surprises, and I was happy to see them delighted when I gave them my creations. My mother still uses the paperweight I made by pasting Japanese paper on a stone I picked up and drawing on it.

Even though they were happy, my mother often told me, “Your ideas are good, but the execution is sloppy.” Influenced by Wakuwaku-san, I focused more on the joy of creating and leaned towards idea-heavy projects. So when my mother said, “Pay more attention to the details because it looks sloppy,” it really struck a chord. Perhaps that’s why I ended up being called a “factory manager” in university.

Despite receiving harsh advice, I kept creating because I felt that trying things out was as natural as the basics of life. Just like the desire for sleep and food, there was a natural urge to try things out, and I didn’t have a strong attachment to the final product. The desire to experiment is something Wakuwaku-san also had, and I see a similar aspect in Karel mentioned earlier.

The other influence was FabCafe, where I started working as a new graduate. Initially, I simply thought, that I wanted to have fun creating things and I wanted to makea space for creating things more open. Through my experience at FabCafe, I also developed an interest in the concept of creating things by yourself that are essential for daily life.

FabCafe was born from the meeting of Loftwork Inc. and Fablab. The word “Fab” combines Fabrication and Fabulous. The catalyst for the creation of Fablab was research conducted at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. They set up an open community lab with fabrication equipment in impoverished areas to experiment with how it would be utilized.

Through these experiments, people were able to create things they needed in their daily lives, which not only empowered them to fix things but also to sustain themselves. The ability to turn ideas into reality that everyone possesses is a very healthy concept. The perspective gained at FabCafe on how to leverage the power of creating things and technology in a healthy way became a guiding principle when considering my career and work.

５. What were you into as a teenager?

Even before my teenage years, I was already hooked on the internet since elementary school. There was a thread on a huge bulletin board called “Fumi Community” in Japan where people engaged in creating things. I would take orders to draw pixel art, create banners, and sell photo materials taken with a digital camera.

During middle school, I created websites with friends using a social platform called “Mobile Space” which was very popular amongst younger generations back then. There were pages for selling materials and message boards for posting, and I think I wrote a lot of diary entries as well. Engaging in such activities led to me being recognized as the “creator” within my class, and I even had kids from the neighboring middle school asking me to “create things” for them.

Of course, spending so much time on the internet had its dangers, and I got in trouble for opening viruses. I researched how viruses were created and learned how to fend them off. Initially, I used the family computer, but with my New Year’s money savings (*Japanese children often get money from their families and relatives as a new year’s gift) and support from my parents, I bought an iMac, which became my own personal device, further immersing myself in it.

What I found interesting about the internet was that you could look up anything and find answers on bulletin boards. Plus, everyone was always active, so it was exciting to see responses even at 2 or 3 in the morning. I enjoyed contributing, so I liked bringing in new information, posting it, and creating things upon request.

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

One example is the “Deviation Game Exhibition” that took place in March this year at https://deviationgame.com/. The event focused on the theme of exploring the co-evolution of AI and humans through games, featuring exhibits and workshops.

The content was incredibly intriguing. There was a cooperative game where players had to draw pictures that could be understood by humans but not give away the answer to the AI for a given topic. For instance, if the topic was “LOVE,” drawing a heart would immediately give it away to the AI. Therefore, players had to get creative by drawing scenes of hugs or depicting the distance between people to convey the concept. They also had a limited amount of ink to use, requiring them to convey their ideas in a simplified manner. The rules set for the game were very well thought out.

As a result, not only could you catch a glimpse of how others interpreted the topic, but you could also see what the collective intelligence considered as LOVE when the AI made its judgment. There were even cases where individuals who shared context, like family members, could guess correctly while others couldn’t. You could not only observe very personal information but also gain a bird’s-eye view of accumulated data, similar to big data. It was fascinating to explore how different individuals, AI, and groups perceived concepts like LOVE.

Furthermore, for a topic like “bread,” a French person might draw a baguette, while someone from another region might draw sliced bread or a croissant. This allowed for capturing how the interpretation of the topic varied based on location as data. By feeding this data back into AI and having it learn, participants engaged in a cycle of creating games together with AI. It wasn’t just about imitating AI but about how we can deviate from that point, repeatedly considering the true essence of competition and co-creation with AI. It was an exceptional experience.

Related Links
Sonoka’s Website: https://sonokasagara.com/