What is KYOTO CREATIVE COLLECTION 2025?
KYOTO CREATIVE COLLECTION 2025This conference, hosted by Vivivit Inc., focuses on "industrial design," which is the source of competitive advantage in businesses, under the theme of "co-creating competitiveness."
This event consisted of six components designed to provide opportunities for "connecting, learning, and co-creating": a symposium, exhibition, panel discussion, gallery, studio collection, and maker's hub. Approximately 450 people, mainly designers and creators, attended the event.
In the discussion area at the venue, iDID's representatives, Taguchi from FOURDIGIT and Kato from SHIFTBRAIN, spoke on two topics, including iDID's activities, under the theme of "Designing Your Growth in the Age of AI - Skill Development in the AI Era."
TOPIC 1: What is the importance of community for designers and creators?
Kato: I think there are many companies and freelancers working fully remotely within the digital creative industry. I believe that creating a community can prevent these people from becoming isolated and provide an opportunity for them to objectively view their own position by creating a space to interact with other companies.
At the iDID exchange event held last July, I was surprised that tickets sold out instantly, partly because exchanges themselves had been halted due to the pandemic. It really made me feel how much everyone wanted to meet in person.
Taguchi: It's a great opportunity for designers and people involved in creative fields to hear other people's perspectives and the stories behind other people's output.
Many companies have small design teams, so I've heard that if they become a closed environment, the information they receive becomes limited.
Kato: That might be true. Of course, we're connected online so there's a lot of information available, but it's hard to actually take action when you're alone, so I think having people to work with makes it possible to actually take action.
Taguchi: Fourdigit is a company with roughly 200 people in total, and of course there are connections within the company, but I think that if you don't go outside, what you learn within the company can become the focus and your perspective can become narrow.
I think it's great that members who participate in iDID events can realize that their company's methods are a little different from other companies, or that they want to adopt the perspectives of others, thus broadening their horizons. At Fourdigit, we have a full-time office work system, but sometimes we tend to become isolated within projects.
Kato: When we try to hold study sessions only within our own company, they often get a lower priority and take a long time to implement. But when we involve other companies, the priority goes up and we can implement them right away. (laughs)
TOPIC 2: What can we gain from interacting with others?
Taguchi: I've also had talk sessions with various people through iDID, and I've found that I can gain different perspectives on approaches and stances towards work, so I think there's a lot to learn simply by communicating. What do you think, Kato?
Kato: That's right. I think there are about three categories if we were to classify them.
One benefit is being able to update information quickly. There's a limit to what you can keep up with on your own, so interacting with highly perceptive people allows you to update your own information more quickly. The second benefit is the mental aspect, or rather, the motivational aspect. It's the feeling that you're not alone. Everyone is working hard and struggling, and you realize you're not the only one having a hard time (laughs).
The third benefit is building trust. Even if you think someone is amazing because they share a lot of information on social media, when it comes to actually asking them to do a job, meeting them in person and getting a real feel for their personality and how they approach their work makes it easier to ask them to do the job.
The session was only about 20 minutes long, but many people in the venue, including those standing, showed interest and listened attentively. I hope to continue sharing my activities in various places in the future.
