Masayuki Shinba, Design Department member.
They have the highest winning rate in competitions in the club.
With his long hair and beard, American vintage style fashion, and his carefree appearance, he was once invited to a meeting because people said he had a "creator-like vibe."
He keeps a fair distance from those around him, but will chat casually if you talk to him, and when it comes to topics related to his interests he will provide a huge amount of information, which is why he is sometimes called a "walking Wikipedia."
Although she has an organic mindset and avoids meat, she does like kakipi (she is sometimes seen drinking it like a drink).
I try not to stay at the office until late, so I hurry back to my house in Fujisawa.
I have a policy of never refusing any work that is requested of me.
The tension never changes.
Designer Masutoshi Shiba, who has been pursuing his own unique style
I would like to introduce this from my perspective, as someone who spent three and a half years in the same club.
(The title of this article is a sequel to " ON THE ROAD: Hiroyuki Oyabu's Life's Journey, " an article in which Shinba introduced Director Oyabu.)
From a home economics boy who knits hats in Nagano to a designer who loves music and fashion
Although Shiba now commutes to Yoyogi from Fujisawa City, Kanagawa Prefecture, a city with a view of the sea, he is originally from Azumino, Nagano Prefecture, which is surrounded by mountains.
From a young age, he loved running around in the fields and playing outside, but he also loved making things.
"Since I was little, I've loved drawing, baking and sewing.
During elective classes in junior high school, it was common for boys to choose "technology" and for girls to choose "home economics," but I chose "home economics."
We had an assignment to knit a scarf, but since I had already knitted a scarf at home, I was the only one who knitted a hat."
After graduating from high school, this home economics boy with a knitted cap enrolled in a fashion college in Tokyo, where he learned about the business of the fashion industry and became an apparel store clerk.
From there, he gradually began to walk the path of becoming a designer, when he started planning his own events related to his favorite music, fashion, and crafts.
"The first time I planned an event was when I was in high school. I had a good feeling about it with some friends from my hometown (Nagano Prefecture) and we decided to do something together. We participated in an art event planned by a second-hand clothing store in Suwa, an hour and a half away by train. We did a fashion show and screened independent films. I made things like human-shaped objects.
The next time I did an event was when I was around 23 or 24 years old. I decided to do a music event with a friend I met when I was a vocational school student, and a friend of that friend, about 15 people in total. Among the members were a chef, a designer, and someone who made clothes. It was interesting to see how almost everything - clothes, food, and music - was connected in one event.
Nowadays there are quite a few music events that mix a variety of different genres, but I think there were fewer back then.
The team would plan events once or twice a year on an irregular basis, and at first I did everything. I started with cleaning and security, then I was in charge of decorating the venue. I could draw illustrations and use design apps, so eventually I started designing flyers and things like that."
A scene from the festival "Skech for Peacenic" held on August 16, 2009 at Kaneyo Shokudo in the fishing town of Hashirimizu Coast, Yokosuka . I was in charge of the planning, management, design work, and venue decoration. About 200-300 people gathered for the evening live performance.
From the day I came to Monosus with the event flyer and bread,
Until the breakthrough
These are flyers I designed for music events that I and my friends planned. Since each event requires planning from scratch, I created all the illustrations and designs from scratch.
Shiba made his debut as a designer by designing an event that he planned himself.
I had been mainly designing paper materials such as direct mail and flyers, but I wanted to try my hand at web design so I decided to work at Monosus about three and a half years ago.
On the day of the interview, he brought along some flyers he had designed for a music event, and it was impressive to see him happily explaining each one.
At the end of the interview, he gave me a loaf of bread from his friend's bakery.
The reason being, the bakery in question was actually my favorite one near where I lived at the time, and when he found out, he offered to share some with me (note: this was not a bribe).
This is one of the stories that shows the breadth of his network.
This is the bag of bread I received back then (slightly oily, lol). I happened to be friends with the bakery near my house that I mentioned in the interview, and by chance, I happened to have some bread from that store that day, so I ended up getting a share.
So Shiba joined Monosus and made his debut as a web designer.
What I noticed about him while working with him is that his enthusiasm never changes, no matter what the situation.
Ever since I joined the company, I have made it a strict rule for myself to "go home at a set time," but when I'm pressed for deadlines or have a problem with a project, I end up going home late almost every night, or close to the last train.
Even in situations like these that might make one a little irritated, Shizuha's style is to calmly go about his job without showing any emotional ups or downs.
That attitude made me feel that, even before I considered his skills, I could trust him both as a colleague and as a person.
However, there was a time when he was unable to fully grasp the design sensibility unique to the web.
"At first, I designed by copying reference sites and didn't really think deeply about why each element was there.
In the midst of all this, I was given the opportunity to enter a design competition, which I won and ended up designing the entire website. That's when I finally got to see the whole picture.
Then, I started to see the flow of what would happen if I did this. I started to understand the logical aspects of design, and web design became more fun."
Before long, he was the top winner in a design competition for a B2B corporate website. This was his breakthrough moment.
(For more details about his breakthrough , see "Let me take part in this competition" This month's MVP is designer Shinba Masumi .)
Meanwhile, Director Oyabuchi, who often works on projects with Shiba, has this to say about Shiba's work style:
"Shiba-san has a strong sense of 'this is his site'. He has a strong sense of responsibility when designing.
At the planning stage, he gives us his opinions and thinks about things together with us. The designs that Shiba creates in this way have a logic to them, so we can present them to clients with confidence."
Although he was initially confused by the world of web design, he gained experience after being able to design an entire website, and achieved a breakthrough by winning the most B2B project competitions. He is still learning, but he seems to be on his way to becoming a designer who is trusted by directors.
The reality is in Fujisawa: The troubles of juggling two jobs
When I think of Shinba, I think of "Fujisawa." I have been living in Fujisawa City, Kanagawa Prefecture for about eight years now.
The commute to my office in Yoyogi takes about 1.5 to 2 hours.
It seems like a long commute, but there seems to be a strong reason to stay in Fujisawa.
"You can't feel that in Tokyo, but there's a reality to it in Fujisawa.
For example, when it comes to the music I love, there are lots of people who are good at playing instruments.
In Tokyo, there are people who dress like rock stars, but can't play the guitar at all.
On the other hand, in Fujisawa there are many people who look unpretentious but are incredibly good at playing instruments.
The same is true for surfing.
People who actually surf make their own surfing clothing.
In Fujisawa, there are many people who have a good balance between their inner self and their outward appearance.
I would say it's not superficial or trendy.
I still love clothes, but I don't follow trends as much as I used to and I can choose my clothes more easily."
A look at the night market "MARKESTA" held at the cafe restaurant "Grobal Kitchen FreeCulture" in front of Fujisawa Station, a favorite haunt of Shiba. A flea market event where Fujisawa shops and friends gather. Shiba was in charge of operational support and design work.
His community around Fujisawa is large.
Once, when I went hiking in Kamakura with Monosus' mountain climbing club, Shiba joined me, and we ran into several of his friends just by walking around the city of Kamakura.
For Shiba, Fujisawa is a place where you can feel the reality of its culture and people.
It seems that the place he wants to be most involved with right now is Fujisawa.
"I think that a job that connects things together will be interesting in the future.
I want to do that in Fujisawa, because Fujisawa has a sense of reality to it."
Even before joining Monosus, he has been designing flyers for music events in and around Fujisawa, which may be one of his ways of being involved with Fujisawa.
However, designing flyers is something I do in my private time, such as after work or on holidays.
Monosus is Monosus, and it's not an easy job. It must be hard to find the time to do it.
"It's hard to balance work and my personal life equally.
I think things might go more smoothly if I could combine them into one, but right now I don't know how to do that.
It's the same feeling of creating something upon request..."
It is not hard to imagine how difficult it must be to juggle both his work for Monosus and his flyer design in Fujisawa. At times, he seems unsteady on his feet, perhaps because he is unable to grasp the balance between these two jobs.
If he could find a connection between the two without giving up on either of them, and without completely separating them, then Monosus itself would become more interesting, and the vague sense of discomfort he feels would disappear.
I look forward to seeing what Fujisawa's future developments will be like, whether the day will come when his reality connects with Monosas, and if so, in what form.
NAKANIWA Keiko