This is a translation of an article written in Japanese published by the Department of Interaction Design at Tama Art University.
This is the original article with photos.

A Spice-Filled Life and Mindful Design: A Journey through Food and Design

Shoko Tanaka
8th-Year Student
Interaction/UX/UI Designer

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--Firstly, please tell us about your current profession.

I work as a user experience (UX) / user interface (UI) designer based in Berlin. In September 2016, I struck out on my own and started working freelance. In public, I'm known as “Shokotan.” Aside from working on the UX/UI design of websites and apps, I'm also involved in design consulting for start-ups.

I'm also a “nomadic” designer because I can work anywhere in the world as long as I have an internet connection. I use an online video conferencing software called “Zoom” which allows me to work remotely whether I'm in Berlin or in Tokyo. This isn't about work, but I've had people younger than me who often have lots of problems ask for life advice while I was on a sea in Greece, and these people were in Tokyo, 9000 kilometers away from me (laughs).

[pic2] With an internet connection, working remotely is possible anytime, anywhere.

--You're from Hiroshima. Why did you want to go to Tama Art University which is in Tokyo?

Even more so than the average person, I've always aspired to work abroad. I thought how wonderful it must be able to work while traveling the world, MacBook in hand. I'm not good at drawing, but because I like making things, I decided to work in a creative field.

It might have been foolhardy or naive of me, but while I was attending a preparatory school to get into an art university in Hiroshima, I thought of trying to get into an art university abroad. My teacher, of course, laughed. That's because even getting into an art university in Tokyo was already a huge hurdle in itself.

The reason why I chose Tama Art University was actually quite simple. I was an ardent fan of Takuya Kimura of the boy band SMAP. Art director Kashiwa Sato, who graduated from Tama Art University, handled the band's tenth anniversary campaign. While being a fangirl was my motivation, I also came to Tokyo defiant, with an attitude of not wanting to lose out to Tokyoites.

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--How was student life at the Department of Information Design at Tama Art University?

I spent each day with a greedy hunger, intensely determined not to waste my tuition fee which cost 10,000 yen per day. I went to all of the classes I could sneak into, to the point that people could say they've seen me in the classes of all courses. When I look back to my old self, I was so serious that my present self would urge her to relax and let the tension out of her shoulders a little.

Because I still wanted to go abroad, I tried participating in a collaborative project by the ArtCenter College of Design in America but unfortunately, I did not make the cut. I also applied to a student exchange program with Aalto University in Finland.

I wanted to go abroad immediately after graduation so I did not go job hunting in Japan, and I devoted myself to my graduation project.

--What did you make for your project?

I challenged myself to create “37.2°C,” a piece that allows you to spend time with someone important in your life through incoming calls on your cellphone. I called it “37.2°C” because that's the internal temperature of the human body at its core. I was hoping my piece would touch and connect two souls from the very depths of their hearts.

Specifically, my idea was to notify users of incoming calls through a physical interface that will make them feel the warmth and presence of the person calling more than a ring tone ever will. When there's an incoming call, the caller's hand print and body temperature will gradually reveal themselves on the phone. A print of the caller's fingers gripping his or her phone would be displayed as a graphic, and the receiver's phone itself would gradually emanate warmth like a portable body warmer.

The most difficult part was how to create warmth. To make it, I made a prototype using a Peltier device which generates heat when positive electricity flows through it, and I tested it repeatedly.

[pic4] “37.2°C,” her graduation project

[pic5] Prototype of 37.2°C

--That's an interesting idea. I feel like you're searching for a way to communicate that's a step away from existing standards. Have you created other pieces that reflect this?

I made a piece during my freshman year called “Without Words” which probably has a common element with 37.2°C. 37.2°C breaks away from sound, while Without Words breaks free from words.

My task was to create a “three-dimensional” letter, and it's quite memorable because it was my first design concept. I came up with the idea during a home stay in Australia. I wanted to write a letter to my parents, but I felt conflicted because I couldn't express everything I wanted to say merely with words. Then I thought, it might be better and purer to just get rid of the words.

So I thought of capturing air from the place you're visiting into a plastic bag, and putting that bag into a paper box like a milk carton, then sending that carton as an “air letter.” It conforms to postal regulations, so I actually sent one from Hong Kong to a friend.

[pic6] WITHOUT WORDS

--You've added value to air?

That's right. When you open a WITHOUT WORDS carton, there's basically nothing in it. By labeling colorless air with the city's name where it was taken from, both the sender and recipient can experience Australia's “air” or Hong Kong's “smell.” That's how you add value to something like air that's all around you but isn't usually given much weight as a source of information. If I didn't study at the Department of Information Design at Tama University, I don't think I could have come up with that idea.

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--What was the most useful thing you've learned at the Department of Information Design?

When I look back, the department itself had the vibe of a start-up. Both teachers and students had the spirit of wanting to learn about and try “designing information that's all around us” together.

The teachers instructed the students, but that doesn't mean they gave all of the answers. I think they guided us in a way that we had to find the answers for ourselves. They managed to cultivate our independence and the kind of thinking and behavior that were proactive. I already had a hunger back then, and I feel that I became even more independent because of them. 

--What do you remember the most about your student life at the department?

I still cherish the words my teachers imparted. They suddenly come to mind when I'm troubled at work, or when I experience setbacks.

One teacher told me that when I'm designing, I should always have an intention behind what I'm making. It shouldn't just be some vague feeling – I should ask myself if what I want to convey and what I want to actualize is clear to me.

Another teacher shared a quote from a bestselling author, which was “Bloom where you are planted.” From this, I learned that if the situation where I was put into was where my current self belonged, then I should do my best there. And if things don't go well there, then I should treat that time as the time to grow my roots so I can overcome that difficult situation. My twenties were tumultuous, and I would often remember this quote during challenging times.

A female teacher, who saw me hell-bent on working too hard once told me, “You shouldn't just eat riceballs from the convenience store. You're a designer, and if you keep doing that you'll lose your intuitive abilities!” So she invited me to her home and cooked for me. She was the kind of teacher who made me want to become an adult who could cook like her. For someone like me who ate unhealthily, her organic, nurturing home-cooked meal nourished both my mind and body.

--You had many ups and downs after graduation, right? 

After graduation, I ruined my body maybe because I overextended myself during all those years in college. This was my first big setback. Once I regained my health, I attended summer school at the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design (CIID) in Denmark.

[pic8] Piece created for her Physical Computing class at CIID

It was only a three-week program, but I regained my strength and confidence because of that study abroad program. I realized just how important confidence is. When you don't appreciate and acknowledge yourself, you batter your heart and body. When your body weakens, your heart also weakens. When your heart weakens, your body also weakens. The mind, heart, and body are inseparable. With this in mind, I was in high spirits when I started work in Japan. But when I was 26, my body was ravaged by another disease, and I was forced to take a long break.

Truthfully speaking, I lost all hope. They say that life is a roller-coaster, and I was at the lowest point of the ride. But I still held that dream of working abroad in my heart. After my recovery, I switched jobs and joined a company that wasn't too much of a burden on my health. I was also learning English, and I kept my eyes open for the next opportunity.

--How did the decision to move to Berlin come about?

The company that I joined was a design firm that specialized in UX/UI, and as a designer in that company, I was tasked with my first big project. It was the overhaul of the fashion app “MERY,” which had 13 million monthly users.

[pic9] “MERY,” a fashion app

[pic10] Sketches for UX/UI design which make complicated information and experiences easy to use and understand

While its core users were teenagers to those in their twenties, it also had an older audience. To acquire more users, we changed the app's base color to a sophisticated white and not a girlish pink; made content easily visible by not cramming pages with information; and developed an animated icon of a beating heart. All these efforts expanded our audience to 20 million users per month. We ranked first among the App Store's free catalog apps, and this solid achievement gave me a renewed confidence in myself.

[slide1] Key UI features in MERY designed by Shoko Tanaka that have won girls' hearts and minds

As this tailwind helped me soar, with great timing the company suddenly opened a branch in Berlin. I made my desire to be transferred clearly known (laughs). Even before our president agreed, I wrote my departure date for Berlin on the office calendar. Beaten down by my persistence, the president formally gave notice of my transfer, and I danced in delight as my long-held dream finally came true. 

--What are the difficulties in working abroad as a designer?

Aside from all of the never-ending things that make up my daily life in Germany, it's not easy to do design and development tasks alongside people with a different language and culture. When we work on projects with colleagues all over the world, the first thing we have to figure out is quite practical: time differences between each city (laughs).

Design is also a job deeply related to sensibilities, so I've had some difficulty trying to make colleagues with a different cultural aesthetic understand sensibilities that are uniquely Japanese. These sensibilities don't need to be explained among us Japanese, so I had no choice but to spend additional time and energy explaining such things. So compared to working in Japanese, expressing design outside of my mother tongue inevitably slow my performance down.

Having said that, from such cultural differences, I've re-recognized our unique sensibilities. I'm so happy when my ideas and designs gain acceptance in a country other than my own. With many failures, I've discovered my own inadequacies, but I've also learned a lot of lessons.

Anyone who wants to work abroad will surely be given a chance if they steadily develop their design abilities at Tama Art University while polishing their language skills. But the first thing to attend to is your ability to design. If you speak in your mother tongue but can't design, you still won't be able to design even if you go abroad. Conversely, if you speak in your mother tongue and you can properly present you designs, your designs will still work even outside of Japan. 

[pic11] When Germany was still divided between East and West Germany, creative activities such as art and design were suppressed. In front of part of the Berlin Wall which evokes the pricelessness of freedom of expression. 

--You also challenge yourself and do other things aside from design.

From my experiences of ruining my health and going in and out of hospitals, I've learned that healthy food both prevents and cures illnesses, and we are what we eat. I've realized that delicious food not only builds our bodies – it also carries nutrients to our hearts. Recently, I opened “Shoko Spoon” in Berlin, and I am pouring my energies into food research. I also joined an “Ayurvedic chef” training program in Hawaii last April.

Through creative activities such as radio, various content and products, I aim to offer new perspectives, sentiments, experiences, and knowledge under the trademarked name “Spicii Chocolate,” a new undertaking I've just started.

The name “Spicii” has various connotations. My roller-coaster of a life has definitely not been easy, having experienced bitterness and “spiciness.” But in the end, I feel that these experiences made me grow as a person. As I've always thought, we do need spice in our lives.

[pic12] “Shoko Spoon” which originated in Berlin conducts workshops and offers catering services.

--What kind of world would you like to make through your creative activities in the future?

I think that the role of a UX/UI designer will become increasingly complicated because it co-exists with advancing technology. But I also believe that it's our job to help make daily life, which is getting harder and harder every day, simpler and easier to understand.

My biggest motivation in all of my endeavors is when people get inspired or feel happy because of what I do. This is why I think all my activities which include design, cooking, radio, and content production are all connected, even if the ways of getting results are different. This may seem presumptuous, but I hope that my designs, cooking, and writing will somehow shift someone's way of living and thinking for the better, and become a part of the spice in their life.

My grand dream is to raise the level of Japanese people's aesthetics (laughs)! That's because the power of design isn't utilized in places such as hospitals and educational facilities where aesthetics and the power of color are necessary. When I was lying in bed at the hospital, the white, cold ceiling did nothing to make me feel better, and I stared at it gloomily. I'd like more people to realize the importance and value of aesthetics.

When we look at beautiful scenery, we are naturally moved and are hearts are filled. It's the same with designers. Being surrounded by beautiful things borne out of creativity, and using such beautiful things make people happy and fulfilled from the very bottom of their hearts. Beauty is truly important in living our lives.

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--Lastly, can you sum up the Interaction Design Course at the Department of Information Design at Tama University in a few words?

I'm often asked why I didn't become an artist. Artists express themselves. By looking hard at themselves and digging deep into themselves, art is born. In an extreme sense, painters and writers can create a piece all by themselves. But I've realized that I'm the kind of person who shines precisely because I'm in a team.

UX/UI design cannot be done alone. Especially with UX which creates experiences, the end product will not amount to much with just the designer working on it. The actual person who breathes life into the product is the engineer. People on the business side who promote the product, writers who write content for it, and other people with various skills complete the team. A project is completed through all of our combined efforts, which is why teamwork is more important than anything else.

Among all of the departments at Tama Art University, I think that the Department of Information Design is where you can polish your teamwork skills the most. You'll learn that having such skills can make you qualified to join a team as a professional designer.
 

--What can you say to students who are entering the department next year?

Your student life at the department will be very meaningful. But having said that, please don't overexert yourself like I did. Release the tension from your shoulders, and please eat properly (laughs). I had a dream of working abroad; I've had many ups and downs; and I've overcome this roller-coaster of a life. Now, I've come to accept all that has happened in these past ten years. While this may not be something Steve Jobs has said in any of his famous speeches, I feel that including difficult times, life is a chain of unexpected events, and it goes on with the help of many.

That's why even if all kinds of things happen, think of those things as life's “spices.” Cherish and enjoy each and every moment of your student life. And if you're ever in Berlin, please drop by Shoko Spoon and try our meals made with a lot of love! 

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Japanese Text / Mayuko Kishiue
English translation/ Donna David
Photo / Yoshiaki Tsutsui
Web design / Ayako Ishiyama