table of contents
About Tofu Design
Could you tell us about the inspiration behind starting the company and the current team structure?
Please tell us about the year you were founded and how it all started. Please tell us about your current team structure.
Before founding Tofu Design, I was a copywriter and Daniel was a designer. At the time, we were both being asked by clients to introduce copywriters and designers, so we thought we'd join forces and start our own studio. We launched the company in 2019, and now we have a team of four people, including ourselves. Daniel and I are the creative directors, and we have two graphic designers.
Before Tofu Design, I was a copywriter while Daniel was a designer. At that time, we both had clients asking us to recommend a copywriter/designer so we thought, why not join forces and start our own studio? So, we started the company in 2019 and we now have a team of 4 people including ourselves. Daniel and I are both the Creative Directors and we have two graphic designers.
On average, how many projects do you handle at one time?
How many projects do you have as a team at a time, on average?
On average, I work on 4 to 5 projects at a time.
On average, we have around 4-5 projects at a time.
What makes your company unique and different from others?
What makes your company unique?
What we think is unique about us is our desire to keep the company small.Many of us in management positions might want to grow our company significantly and serve more clients, but that's not what we want. We always want to have the power to choose the clients we work with and maintain a high standard of quality in our work.
Clients can work directly with us without going through their account manager (sales or other client contact). Furthermore, we maintain close communication and frequent check-ins, ensuring clients are always aware of the progress.
Furthermore, because our team operates entirely remotely, we have a dynamic system built around mutual trust and respect.
I think what makes us unique is our desire to keep the company small. Many people in our management position might want to grow the company into a big team to service more and more clients but this is not what we want. We want to always have the power to choose the clients we work with and to maintain high standards in the quality of our work. This also gives our clients a very personal and premium experience because they are able to work directly with us. Our team is also 100% remote so our dynamic revolves around a strong system of mutual trust and respect.
What kind of workflow do you use to carry out your work?
What workflow do you use to get the job done?
It's very simple, and I think it's no different from what other people do. We start by gathering information about the client, understanding their business, goals, and problems. Then we consider the concept and move on to the final design. It may differ depending on the case, whether it's branding or UI/UX, but basically, it follows the workflow I just described.
I think our workflow is no different from other people. It is quite straightforward. We typically have a discovery call with our clients to understand their business, their goals, and their problems. Then once identified, we will start exploring concepts and eventually move into the final design. This is probably oversimplified because sometimes it depends on whether it's a branding project or a UI/UX project but this is basically the workflow we have.
Do you ever collaborate with other companies or freelancers?
Do you collaborate with other companies or freelancers?
Yes! I've collaborated with other companies on product design, such as socks and packaging design, and I've also worked with other freelancers on development, UI/UX design, and illustration.
Yes, we do! We have done collaborations with other companies for product design like socks and packaging design and we have also worked with other freelancers for development, UI/UX design, and illustration.
Do you also request the services of people from countries other than Malaysia? If so, how do you find them?
Do you sometimes request people outside of Malaysia? How do you find partners?
We have collaborated with freelancers in India, Italy, and Brazil. They sometimes email us their portfolios, or we contact them through social media.
We have collaborated/worked with freelancers in India, Italy, and Brazil. Usually, they either email us their resume or we connect through social media.
What is the most important thing to Tofu Design? Please tell us about your philosophy and principles.
What do you value most as a company? What is the company's philosophy, etc.?
As a company, we value integrity and open communication. These are core elements in building strong relationships with our customers.Our philosophy is to always be honest and authentic in everything we do.Because the results are communicated not only to the client, but also to the people they serve. This is one of the reasons we keep our company small so that we can choose clients with goals that we genuinely care about and that excite us.
We deeply value honesty and open communication as a company. We believe they are the core ingredients to a successful working relationship with our clients. As a company, our philosophy is to always be sincere and authentic in whatever we do. We believe it's important that our work comes from our heart because the outcome of it can be felt by not just the client but the people they serve as well. This is also one reason why we keep the company small so we can select clients with we goals truly care and are excited about.
What do you think is the most important thing for doing a "good job"?
What do you think is the most important thing for doing a “good job”?
For us, the most important thing for doing a good job is"Both the client and the designer clearly share what needs to be done."I think that's the key. If we can set a clear brief and goal from the start, the work we put in is usually successful.
To us, I think the most important thing for doing a good job is clarity from both clients and designers. When we are able to establish a clear brief and goal at the start, the work we put out is usually successful.
What kind of company do you want Tofu Design to become in the future?
What kind of company do you want to make in the future?
Tofu Design aims to continue evolving flexibly. While we don't have a firm plan, we don't intend to limit ourselves to digital design alone. Next, we believe it's important to continue exploring various media to express our creativity.
From here, we want to allow Tofu Design the flexibility to evolve. We don't have any solid plans but we are not restricting ourselves to digital design only. Maybe next time we can keep exploring different mediums to express our creativity.
Past Achievements / Project of Tofu Design
Could you tell me about Tofu Design's representative achievements and their characteristics?
What are some of your representative achievements and their characteristics?
"Sumatran Tiger"[Title of the work]" is one of our most important works. It is a portfolio piece that showcases our own ideas. In its creation, we explored a new technique of parallax rendering to mimic a 3D experience, and as a result, it was a project that was loved by many people.
The Sumatran Tiger is one of our most important works so far because the message is dear to us. It also became popular because it explored a new way of using parallax to mimic a 3D experience which many people loved.
Communicating complex and compelling information in an accessible and engaging way, without being intimidating.
Another project that defines us is the redesign of Starbucks. Although, this is a personal portfolio project (Starbucks, please feel free to contact us if you're interested!),Starbucks appWe redesigned it to better represent our company. The simple and fun animation attracted people's attention, which helped us secure many jobs.
Another project that helped define us is our Starbucks redesign. This is a personal portfolio work (hi Starbucks, please call us!) where we redesign the Starbucks app in a way we feel can better represent them as a company. I think the simple but delightful animations caught people's attention and we landed a lot of work because of it.
Latest Achievements / Unifiers of Japan
https://unifiersofjapan.framer.website
This is a website that summarizes the lives of three warlords who symbolize Japan's Sengoku period, right? Could you tell me why you created this website? Also, what aspects of Japanese history interested you?
Why did you choose three Japanese warlords to create your website? Do you like Japanese history? What was your interest in it?
"The Age of the SamuraiThanks to shows like "The King of Fighters" (Netflix) and the FX TV series "Shogun," we became very interested in ancient Japanese history. At the same time, we were exploring Ukiyo-e and Shinkan-ga and realized that they were all in the same timeline. That really piqued our interest, and we were very fascinated by the history of that period. We love Japan and actually visit every year. We have great respect for "Japanese culture" that has been born from Japanese history.
The idea for this site came to Daniel during a period when he was hitting a creative wall.He rediscovered his creativity and used no-code tools.framerSince I was studying [subject], I thought I'd try to create something interesting, and decided to focus on this idea. We hope this project was the right decision!
We became very interested in ancient Japanese history because of the show The Age of Samurai (Netflix) and subsequently the FX TV Series Shogun. At the same time, I was exploring Ukiyo-e and shinhanga art and realized the timelines were the same. This intrigued us and we were very fascinated by the history at that time. We love Japan in general, we visit every year. We admire and respect the culture that has come from Japanese history. This topic also found Daniel at a time of creative block. He was rediscovering his creativity and was learning Framer so he decided to focus on this topic to create something interesting. We hope we did it justice!
Could you tell us about the aspects you focused on during the production process?
What were your particular points of interest?
This site focuses on three warlords and how they "transform into samurai armor." While Daniel has always enjoyed exploring the morphing technique, those around him thought it was impossible to implement. So, he decided to incorporate morphing to make the impossible possible, and he did.
For the site, the area of focus would be the three warlords and how they morph into their samurai armor. Morphing has been something Daniel enjoys exploring but often times people criticize it for being impossible or difficult to develop. So he wanted to incorporate this to make the impossible, possible.
How did you gather information for the production?
I would like to know how you gathered the information to create this site.
I watched many documentaries about the Sengoku and Edo periods, including lectures on YouTube by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and read many articles. I also read Inazo Nitobe's "Bushido" to deepen my understanding of bushido and philosophy. I may not have understood everything correctly, but I would be happy if this sparks interest in learning for others.
We watched a lot of documentaries and read a lot of articles about the Sengoku-Edo period including lectures on YouTube by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. We also read Bushido by Inazo Nitobe to understand more about the samurai code and philosophy. We might not have gotten everything right but we hope it helped inspire people to be interested to learn.
About the design industry in Malaysia
Could you tell me about the design industry in Malaysia? How does it compare to other industries in the country? Also, what do you think are the unique characteristics of the design industry in Malaysia compared to other countries?
What are the characteristics of the design industry in your country? How do you feel it compares to other industries in the country? Also, what characteristics do you feel are unique to your country compared to other countries?
I think the Malaysian design industry is not yet fully mature, so this is a very difficult question.For example, they hold the KL Illustration Fair every year,Mossery,ana tomyThere are many companies that place great importance on design, as you can see. However, I think Malaysian designers are not getting the recognition they deserve. Many companies don't recognize the value of design, and it's not given much importance... There are still many people who think of designers as less than professionals. I still sometimes hear comments and criticisms that graphic/web design is less profitable than architecture. But I don't think this way of thinking is necessarily correct.
This is quite a difficult question because we personally feel the design industry in Malaysia hasn't fully matured. I think there is a lot of good movement towards design and illustration expression; for example, we have KL Illustration Fair every year and we have a lot of companies that celebrate design like Mossery and Ana Tomy. However, designers in Malaysia are still not getting the credit we deserve. Many companies don't value design and many don't view design as important. There are still a lot of people who think of designers as less than a; professional therefore, they are often not well-paid. We still get comments or sometimes remarks thinking graphic/web design is not as profitable compared to architecture but this notion is not always correct.
While the number of people taking on design work such as UI/UX and graphic design as a side job may be increasing, there is still a perception that design is easy to learn, resulting in a considerably low quality of work.In terms of distinctive features, Malaysian design still lacks an identity. There isn't a style that can be said to be "Malaysian."For example, when you walk around Taiwan, South Korea, or Japan, you can find things that make you think, "This is so Taiwanese, Korean, or Japanese!" But Malaysia is different. I think it will be a long time before design takes root in Malaysia.
I would say that there may be more and more people moving into design like UI/UX or graphic design as a side hustle but the quality of work is usually quite poor because again, people think design is easy to learn. In terms of characteristics, Malaysian design lacks an identity still. There isn't a style we can say “This is very Malaysian”. For example, we can walk around Taiwan, Korea, or even Japan and say “yes, this is very Taiwanese/Korean/Japanese!” – but not for Malaysia. We still have a long way to go, I think.
Could you tell me about any design companies in Malaysia that you're paying attention to?
What design companies are you looking out for in Malaysia?
Our favorite design company is,Where's Gut Studio,LIE Design,Fictionist StudioThat's right. We have a good impression of them because they produce very sophisticated, creative, and innovative works.
A few design companies we love are Where's Gut, LIE Design, and Fictionist Studio. We like how they are pushing out very polished, creative, and innovative works.
What are your expectations for the Malaysian design industry going forward?
What do you expect from the Malaysian design industry in the future?
What we particularly hope for is that everyone will have more respect for the design industry.I want people to understand just how important a role designers play in making our daily lives more comfortable and beautiful. There's really no other way to put it.
We don't have any particular expectations except we hope that people can respect the industry more and see how big a role designers play in making our everyday lives easier and prettier.
—Are there any Japanese web design or graphic design companies or works that you are paying attention to?
Are there any Japanese web/graphic design companies or works that you are looking out for?
ZiZOI really love working at Shiftbrain! Lately,tegusuwithStudio TakeumaWe follow the creations of [the company/organization]. We love the freshness of Japanese design.
Of course, we love ZiZO and SHIFTBRAIN's works! But recently, we have been following works by Tegusu, Inc and Studio Takeuma. We love how fresh Japanese design feels – nothing is ever dull or repetitive.
Editor's note
That concludes our interview with Tofu Design! What did you think?
This is the first time I've had the opportunity to write an article based on an interview with an overseas production company. Because I'm not confident in my English skills (especially conversational English), I'm communicating primarily through text.
What I sensed through the interview was their passion for creating things.The willingness to communicate what you want to do through your portfolio resonated with the Japanese creators I've interviewed so far. I hope to continue connecting with creators around the world and create opportunities to experience the essence of their work.
Thank you for reading to the end. The person who connected us with Tofu Design this time was...Sakaguchi-san from ZiZOThis article was created in response to a post on X.
Please look forward to the next update.
This was the iDID Magazine editorial team!
