Interview with
Tomoko Sakamoto and Masanari Nakayama
About Bringing Flexible Visual Systems to Japan
I was so happy holding a copy of the Japanese version of Flexible Visual Systems in my hands, not just because it has been my lifelong dream to publish a Japanese book, but because it looks so beautiful. It is a little smaller, like all Japanese books, the papers have a wonderful haptic, the colors are bright, and the binding makes it very easy to browse through the pages. The book is a testament to the perfection of the craft of making books that speak to all of your senses. But just because the object you are holding in your hands seems effortless, it does not mean that the process to get there hasn’t been hard work. I know how much work it has been for me, but I wanted to know from Tomoko and Masanari how it has been to translate it and design it.
Martin:
What is your name, and what role did you play in publishing the Japanese version of Flexible Visual Systems?
Tomoko: My name is Tomoko Sakamoto, who translated this book in Japanese language.
Masanari: My name is Masanari Nakayama (APRIL FOOL Inc.) I am the designer of the Japanese edition.
What challenges did you overcome to make this book?
Tomoko: Converting German and Dutch names into Katakana description.
Masanari: In translation, the translator focuses on how to appropriately translate the author’s intentions and ideas. Similarly, in design, the translator pays attention to how to translate without deviating from, and sometimes amplifying, the intentions and aims of the original design. There are some cases in which it is difficult to grasp the intent of the translation, and there are also difficult cases, but with this book, as expected, the design was consistent and it was very easy to proceed. The only other difficulty was that the data was very heavy and my PC was screaming….
Which part of the book did interest you the most?
Tomoko: Beautiful graphic examples and ‘How this book come to be’ at the end of the book.
Masanari: Although I feel the importance of being flexible in design, to be honest, I still had a somewhat vague and blurry understanding of it. This book is divided into a theory part and a practical part, and the two parts are carefully explained step by step. I was also attracted by the abundance of examples in the practical part, especially the visuals.
Who do you think would like this book?
Tomoko: Organized people who love graphic design.
Masanari: People who have gone through the old design education, like my generation, who started with the very creation of logos, for those who seem to have made a virtue of the fact that design must be sleep deprived, hand scrubbed, and sweated over… They should encounter this book quickly, realize, wake up, and shift to the next design approach.
ロゴづくりから、システムづくりへ。
絶えず変化し続けるこの世界では、堅固なものはすべて壊れる運命にあると思ったほうがいい──デザイナーはこれまでに学んできた静的なアプローチを捨て、ロゴに固執するのをやめて、フレキシブルなシステムを想像しなければなりません。フレキシブル・デザイン・システムは、あらゆるメディアに適用するデザインのアプローチです。
現代のビジュアル・アイデンティティは、企業に限らず、組織、イベント、人物、プロダクト、あらゆるもののために作られます。インタラクティブなコミュニケーションや、動画を含むさまざまなフォーマット上で、一貫して「それらしく」機能する必要があります。デザインに体系的にアプローチすることで、無限に増え続ける展開をサポートできる、大きな基盤を作れることに気づくでしょう。
静的なものからフレキシブルなものへ、多感覚で多次元のものへシフトすることで、さまざまなメッセージを、さまざまな場所で、さまざまな受け手に対して、臨機応変に発信できるビジュアル言語（＝システム）を手に入れることができます。本書では、それを可能にするデザインのアプローチを授けます。10年の研究と20年の実践を経てつくられた本書は、すでに世界のデザインや、デザイン教育のカリキュラムを変え始めています。
ISBN：978-4-8025-1322-7
定価：本体4,500円＋税
仕様：B5判変型／320ページ
発売日：2025年3月25日
著者：マーティン・ロレンツ
翻訳：坂本知子（spread）
デザイン：中山正成（APRIL FOOL Inc.）
Even if you have the English or Spanish version of the book, consider getting the Japanese version here:
https://bnn.co.jp/products/9784802513227
It is just a beautiful object.