This is a job that can only be done by seeing the other person's face.
We are doing this in the Shonan area.
- Corcovado Co., Ltd. -

We moved to this office in May of last year (2015). Prior to that, we rented a room in an old resort condominium famous in the local area, located just a few minutes from here in a residential area. There was a pool in the common areas, and we liked it so much that we thought we could stay there forever, but as our staff increased and it became too small, we moved out.

Originally, I worked as a freelancer for about five years from 1998, and then I started Corcovado with a colleague from my previous job in 2003. At first, there were only two or three people coming and going, but it gradually increased, and now it's this... So I asked a local real estate agent to let me know if there was any interesting property, and that's when I moved here.

The sea was closer before.

That's true. But not everyone goes to the beach. The employees are basically indoor types. Designer Tanaka is the type who wants to stay at home and read manga all day on his days off, there is no one who surfs seriously, and Gakki, a founding member who moved from Ibaraki, said that she has lived on Kugenuma Beach for many years but has only been to the beach a few times...

Sorry for disappointing you (lol)

But everyone loves the sea. Several of us, including myself, were born and raised here, so we love the sea in the same way that if you grow up near mountains, you'll love mountains.

I like the feeling of the sea. I'm an indoor person, but I'd like to live near the sea.

In the evening, a breeze from the sea comes, called the evening calm. It feels cool even in summer, and the beauty of the sunset is different. I wonder if it's because of all these factors that I don't want to leave this location. Yokohama? Tokyo? I can't think of any other options.

The reason why most of our customers are in Shonan is because we think it's better to be close to them. Whether they say, "I need you to fix this bit on the website, what should I do?" or something more basic like, "I'm having trouble with my computer!", we can pop in right away. It's very easy to help with operations, and I think physical proximity is important for long-term relationships.

Due to the nature of a website, creating it is not the end, but rather it is just the beginning. Even if it starts off as a really small beginning, over time we can get to know each other and develop a long-term relationship. Since I started Corcovado, I have wanted to have such a business model.

In the past, I participated in big competitions, got a budget, made the work, and that was the end of it, but I didn't get much joy out of it. The way of thinking about work in that area is completely different between Tokyo and here.

In Tokyo, both the production side and the ordering side are one-time visitors, and the work style is such that each job is a milestone. But here, both we and the clients are locals. Even after each job is finished, we continue to meet somewhere. How can we work in this kind of relationship?

In Tokyo, being the only winner is a status symbol, but here it's better to continue for a long time with give and take. I think people who are rooted in the local community and working there have this feeling. You can't just make something and be done with it. You can't make strange mistakes like that that will damage your credibility as a person. Be kind and serious. I learned a lot from that.

First, let me introduce everyone. The current staff are basically people who joined us through recruitment ads on our company website. Luckily, if you search for "Shonan Web Design," Corcovado comes up at the top of the results.

Shima-san applied for the job even though they were looking for a designer, and even though she had no design experience and couldn't design. When I asked her why she wanted to work there during the interview, she said, "Because it's close to my house" (laughs).

That's not all. In fact, it was a key factor for about 50 steps.

She's the kind of girl who can express her thoughts without being nasty. In the end, I had her join the company as a writer and planner, but Shima was originally at a planning company for a major advertising agency. She stayed up all night, lost sight of her own value, and quit. She was a cram school teacher, but she came to the interview because she wanted to be involved in the actual production of things.

When I worked under an agency, there were many people between me and the customer, and the work was always a game of telephone, the content was constantly changing, and I didn't understand the customer. I was just being pushed around by the words "fix it," and I couldn't respect the customer, and I lost my passion. I was up all night, all night.

People who can do that are tough and talented, and I respect them, but I was different. However, I liked manufacturing, so I wondered if I could do it locally, and when I searched, I found Corcovado. When I joined the company and started working, the relationship between customers and employees was very close, I could meet them anytime, and we respected each other, so I felt like I wanted to do my best.

It's hard to imagine the thoughts of people far away whose faces you can't see. It was difficult. So now it's very simple and easy to do.

Tanaka is also from the local area. She graduated from an art school, but during her job hunting period, she seemed to have just lazed around and read manga, so she applied at a strange time around October after graduation.

But I was surprised at the photo attached to his resume, he had a very smug look on his face (laughs). But his work was very good, and when I interviewed him, he was surprisingly serious. So, would you like to come? When I think "this person is interesting," I want to hire him. But when I started working there, I couldn't make a phone call, which is inevitable because he was almost a new graduate. His email correspondence was also suspicious... But he worked hard from there, and now he's fine with phone calls and emails, right?

I still find myself pondering emails sometimes.

However, she has her own unique worldview as a designer, and although she mainly studied illustration at university, she now expresses her unique personality in web design. Another thing I would like to add is that she is a big foodie.

Thank you for the meal (she smiles and starts eating the bun).

The guy over there wearing a hat is Ken, who joined the company at the end of last year. He was hired mid-career. How old is he now?

I am 29 years old.

You were born in Tokyo, right?

I'm originally from Tokyo, but I moved to Kamakura about three years ago, and before I came to Corcovado, I commuted to Tokyo every morning. Now I commute by bicycle from my home.

They do a solid design. Their sense is cutting edge. Ken is also someone who has had doubts about the way agencies do things.

My previous company was basically based on paper products, making transportation ads, magazine ads, and CD jackets. There was an advertising agency in between, and I felt a distance between the customer and me. For example, I put my heart and soul into something that would only be displayed for a week, and I had to work overtime. I continued like that for about five years, and I thought maybe it was a bit different.

Of course, I learned a lot from that experience, so I don't regret it, but I wanted to change the way I worked. I wanted to work closer to the customers. That feeling started to grow, and I wanted to change jobs. So I looked up Shonan and design, and Corcovado came up.

Gakki was one of the original members when the company was founded. She was a junior colleague at the company where I worked before going freelance, and I asked her to join us when we were making Corcovado.

I joined the company eight years ago. I was about 30 years old at the time, and the digital design department I was working in was being downsized due to company policy. Also, the production at my previous company was mainly for group companies, and there was little sense of properly interacting with customers. I was not satisfied with that, so I immediately submitted my resignation and moved here.

Gakki really loves her audience and she loves talking to them.

That has changed since I came to Corcovado.

I'm now independent and back in my hometown of Ibaraki, but when I left my company, I had a farewell party. Then, more than 50 customers who had been acquainted with me gathered at the store. The legendary "GACKY NIGHT!". Amazing popularity. However, I don't have a wife, so I'm looking for one.

I don't need that information (laughs).

We all share the desire to interact directly with customers and create things together, and this is also my own basic concept.

I think everyone is probably lonely and timid. It would be hard to continue doing things in a businesslike manner. But the customers are the same, and they want to cherish their connections and get along with each other.

"Let's make 'together'" is a style of work that we have all built together. Although it is not as structured as the construction industry, where there is an order and a receiver, there is a subcontracting structure in the production industry as well.

But I think this is fundamentally wrong. I think that people involved in manufacturing are equals, and the order in which people pay shouldn't be determined by their status. Unless we improve this structure, I don't think the manufacturing workplace will improve.

I want to embody that. When I was a freelancer, I mainly worked for a major agency. I got a job that took up New Year's holidays for three consecutive years. But I got a decent amount of pay for it. But those three years were when my child was born and was 1, 2, and 3 years old, so I couldn't spend New Year's holidays with him.

As a freelancer, I want money. But in my third year, I compared it to the other two. I wondered which was more valuable: spending the moments when my child was 2 or 3 years old with me, or the salary I got by giving up my vacation. If my wife and child were gone because of work, it would be meaningless. I thought this was a bit different. So I decided to start a company.

Even for small jobs, we want to work together carefully to create something that can continue to take root in the local community. That's the idea behind our business.

When I started, I had a lot of really nice customers.

For example, our clients in the disability welfare industry are all people we really respect as human beings. However, not everyone is good at public relations. When we take on that role and work hard, they are incredibly happy. It's normal to do the same thing in agency work in Tokyo, but here, when we demonstrate the same ability in one encounter, they smile. There's a job that's exhausting, and a job that always makes people happy.

If you were asked which environment you prefer, you would probably choose the latter, right? I hope to continue this work style in Shonan.