Design for Japan
Built for
Two cultures,
one studio
Founded in London in 2009, we have designed for Japanese and Western companies ever since. The two founders do the work themselves, from the first call to launch.
01Both cultures, first hand
Rieko is Japanese and Tom is British. Sky and the BBC in London, Fujitsu and Audi for Japan: we know what each side expects.
02Work at global standard
Nine years leading experience design for Nokia, and the interface for Ford’s autonomous vehicle simulator, which won IDSA Gold.
03Software meets the object
Brands and screens for robots, wearables and connected devices, among them Cobot, which went on to raise $100M.
Work in and
with Japan
Japanese companies speaking to the world, and global companies speaking Japanese. We have done both since the studio began in 2009.
- Finance
AXA Japan
We looked after its Japanese website from London, a small job that grew into a retainer of several years.
- Research
Fujitsu
Research into the design of London 2012, and thirty recommendations for Tokyo 2020, in Japanese.
- Education
Waseda
In eight months, a new identity, a microsite, a brochure and a bespoke website for international students.
- Automotive
Audi Japan
Online promotions for Audi Japan, made as the partner to a Tokyo production company.
- Music
W+K Tokyo
With W+K Tokyo Lab, a full-screen video site for the rapper Chinza Dopeness’s debut album.
- Our own
Auwa
Rieko’s illustrated world, rooted in the Japanese idea of kokoro. Stories, site and figure, made in-house.
Four ways
we help
Most companies come to us before a launch in Japan, or when their Japanese presence needs a steady hand. These are the four things they ask for.
- 01
Japanese sites and launches
Japanese-language sites built to read naturally, then looked after from London once they are live.
- 02
Japanese market guidance
What Japanese buyers look for, from trust signals to tone, so your brand lands as you meant it.
- 03
Robotics and hardware
Brand, interface and app design for robots and devices launching in Japan, beside your engineers.
- 04
AI systems
The agents, skills and context your team runs on, set up to work in Japanese as well as English.
Selected work
How a
project runs
You talk to the people doing the work, from the first call to the last, with no account managers in between.
- 01
Align
We agree what you need, what success looks like and where to start. You get a written plan within days.
- 02
Simplify
We cut before we add. Anything that does not earn its place is gone before you ever get to see it.
- 03
Build
Design and build happen in the same hands, so nothing gets lost between the sketch and the final code.
- 04
Refine
We launch, then stay close. Fixes in the first weeks after launch are part of the job, not an extra.
- Time
5 to 10 weeks
- Brand5 to 6 weeks
- Brand and site8 to 10 weeks
- NoticeTwo weeks
- Cost
£25K to £75K
- Audit£3,500
- Brand£25K to £40K
- BuildQuoted
- You keep
Everything
- DesignThe Figma file
- AssetsA full pack
- For AIBrand files
- Who
The two founders
- JapaneseRieko
- EnglishTom
- MeetingsOn video
The team
Tom Vining
Co-Founder
Product strategy, design systems and full-stack build. Formerly Head of XD at Nokia, and before that AKQA, R/GA and W+K Tokyo.
Rieko Maeda
Co-Founder
Creative direction, illustration and brand. Japanese-born and London-based, she leads all our work in Japanese, from the first call.
The Network
Specialists
Long-term collaborators for motion, 3D and backend engineering, people we have worked with for years.
Questions
Yes. Rieko is Japanese and leads our work in Japanese: the copy, the design review and the conversations with Japanese partners. Fujitsu’s thirty recommendations for Tokyo 2020 were written in Japanese.
Yes, it is where most of our recent work sits: brands for the robotics companies Cobot, which went on to raise a $100M Series B, and Gritt, the interface for Ford’s autonomous vehicle simulator, and watches and trackers for Withings and Nokia. We do not do industrial design. We work beside that team on the brand, the screens, the app and your Japanese website.
Japan is eight or nine hours ahead of London, depending on British Summer Time. The Japanese late afternoon is the British morning, so calls with Japanese partners are easy to set up, and work moves on overnight.
Yes. A one-week design audit at £3,500 is the usual way in. We look at your site or product as a Japanese customer would and tell you what to fix first.
The first weeks of fixes after launch are part of the job. After that, updates and new pages for your Japanese site run on a rolling three-month agreement, which is how we worked with AXA Japan.
London, working with clients in Japan, the UK, Europe and the US, mostly on video. We spend time in Japan every year, with makers who give their lives to one craft.
Launching in Japan?
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