Design from the perspective of how we work.
To enhance individuality,
A company that thinks about the way we work
- Wav Design Inc. -

To explain it in a logical order, ever since we created Wav Design, we've been thinking a lot about work styles and the way production companies work. There's a culture in the industry that says, "It's natural for designers to work on weekends," but Nakamura and I had exchanges like, "After all, it's better not to work on weekends," and "I understand the benefits of working a lot, but it's also good to have a lot of rest."
So in 2012, we started a project called "A company where you work for 11 months and take a 1 month break." At the time, there were no production companies attempting something like this, but we thought that if we were going to start our own company, we wanted to do it with our own values and style.

At that time, Matsumoto was particular about the name of the project and the style it should follow.

Looking at how this project has been reported in the media, many people are thinking of it as a kind of vacation system, but from our perspective, it is not a benefit system; rather, we think of it as a creative project launched by a production company.
For example, it's the same idea as making a cool T-shirt or a product that piques the curiosity of those who see it.

Of course, at the beginning, we often talked about how to make a one-month break happen. We tried to increase the number of employees to cover for those who were on leave and shift the work from one-off to long-term projects, but that was only half the story.

The other half was deciding whether to do the project or not, getting the OK from the company, and having Nakamura and I take a month off. Let's do it, let's go. I feel like that decision was everything.

Matsumoto and I were the first to take a month off and went on a trip around the world, and after that, the staff who carried out the project spent their time in a variety of ways, such as studying languages overseas and walking the pilgrimage route in Spain.
Some staff members said that they would do things that they usually leave undone, with the theme of the extraordinary in the overseas world. For example, they cleaned the exterior walls of their houses or built a pizza oven that they had always wanted. It was a month in which they fulfilled requests rooted in everyday life.
In any case, it is of course our hope that they will be stimulated and hone their individuality there, and it may have had the effect of raising awareness of the company. However, the reason we started it is much simpler: we wanted to increase the number of people who share the same values.

As the number of production companies increases, something new is needed, just like Monosasu-san has started a media called "Monosasu". It is natural to create something good in production, just like a restaurant serving delicious food. Attractive restaurants communicate something other than the food, such as the store's appearance, customer service, atmosphere, location, creative cuisine, rare ingredients...
It's obvious that it's delicious. It's obvious that the design is good. But what else do we do? We felt like we were being questioned, so we started this project and communicated, "This is our style."
I hope this will bring together people with the same values. It was also a message to people I haven't met yet.

What I learned from working on the project is that taking a month off doesn't make a big difference to a person's work. But even if they don't show up the next month, something they gained during the break remains. I think that this will be what fuels them and will gradually come into play. Of course, it's very effective in terms of simply refreshing them.
Earlier, Mr. Hatakeyama said that he would go on an internship even if he had a month off because he was worried about his job. But if you're a city boy who doesn't like nature, I think doing the exact opposite would make your love for the city stand out even more.
The more you love your job, the more you shouldn't do anything during your one-month break. Do something that isn't work. If you want to do something, it means you're dependent on it. Dependence can sometimes be bad for you professionally.
After spending a month completely away from the company, wanting to do something but unable to, Hatakeyama's work exploded the following month. Like a fish in water.

This is all I have!

So why not try a month on a deserted island? The energy you build up while saying things like, "I don't like this!" or "I want to go back to the city!" will help you see the good things about the city even more. The more important something is, the more you realize its value.

It's still vague, but for a company to grow and produce results, individual strength is important. To that end, we have begun working on establishing a work style that allows employees to create the best way to work for themselves.
Instead of "working at a company = being tied to a company," we will design a new work style. This is the next step.

Specifically, we are changing the employment status. We currently have three styles of employment: company employees, contract employees for each project, and freelancers who also have a seat at WavDesign.

To be more specific, the staff who have contracted for projects that are done annually are OK with not coming to the office as long as the work is not delayed. The freelancers are people who were originally employees of our company but became independent, and they have our company's business cards and accounts, but they also work individually.
It may sound strange, but I've always said, "Stop relying on one company," and "It's better to diversify your income, including your salary." I've always been OK with employees having side jobs, and I regularly have conversations like, "What side jobs have you been doing lately?", "How much did you earn?", and "What about filing your tax returns?", and I've always encouraged them to have income that way.

Having a source of income outside of the company means you can have a relationship with the company where you aren't dependent on each other.

Not being dependent on others is very important. A side job can earn you money, but it is also a reflection of your abilities and attractiveness when your company is gone. If you can't get work there, then maybe you're not attractive enough? Whatever your skill, if you can think for yourself and work on it with ingenuity, you can make money.

What we can do for staff who are busy with side jobs is to give them preferential treatment, pay them to secure working hours, or offer them something more than just money. I think it's natural to negotiate and create work that they want to do.

For example, it's not uncommon for freelancers to ask our staff to do coding work as a side job.
I asked the staff, "What are you going to do during your lunch break?" "I'm going to have lunch with the freelance members. They want to ask me for advice on some work." "Oh, that's great," I said, not really understanding what they were saying (laughs).
In conclusion, there is no point in criticizing every little thing, and the fact that there is work means that the economy is growing and it is attractive, so the idea is to accept everything. Even if they come back to the company and do their job, they are free to do so.
There's no point in stopping them, and if there is work available, I want to do it, and if it causes my work to be neglected, then of course I will say something.

Yes. On the contrary, it makes you want to do things properly.

However, it is true that if you allow freedom in the way you work, things can get a little confusing. Values vary. However, I think it's good to have a vague sense of belonging, or a sense of belonging to a community, so we get together twice a year to eat a meal.
What I think is that it's unnatural to try to box everyone in, and the most important thing is that "I'm going because it's fun." By the way, when we did that, the freelancers who left our company asked us to take on projects that they couldn't take on individually, and we started working together. I think work can spread out.

When I hear that side jobs are prohibited, I honestly think, "Why not?"

I feel the same way. Because we share the same values, it doesn't feel like we're doing anything particularly new. On days off, staff members even come to me for advice about their private work.

This is also a strange story.

"Please take a look at the design." If I find something I don't like, I'll edit it myself and send it to them (laughs).

We sometimes ask our employees to do part-time work. We can't ask them to do it on Monday through Friday, but we could do it on Saturdays. So we asked them, "I'll pay you for the part-time work, so can you do it?" It's a mysterious route to get employees to do part-time work outside of the company. The accounting department also asks us, "Why are you paying them a salary, but also paying them for the part-time work?" We answer, "I feel like we're paying them as company employees and we're paying them as individuals." Because we have weekends off.

In summary, I guess it comes down to respecting the individual.

That's true. I don't depend on others, but I understand the loneliness of being an individual, so I think it's important to have a platform or community as a base. Of course, depending on the project, there is a feeling of wanting to work together, but basically, the most important thing is to develop your own strength. Is that the only way people can work hard? I also think that. Do they really want to do it, or don't they? I often say that you don't have to think about things like doing it for the company. It's all about the individual. I understand that side jobs are bad from a management perspective. But if you think about it as an individual, it would be nice to work somewhere else and earn money in addition to working for the company. So I think it's okay to do it. Even if you take a month off, if you get a response like, "Do you want to do this?", "I want to do it," or "I was satisfied with doing this," it's "good for you" even if it doesn't directly return to work.

Recently, some staff members are committed to projects by being stationed at the client's place, and meet with the client once a month, if at all. There are also some employees like that. There is no particular regular contact.

So that's the stance. At my company, there's usually a morning meeting, right? We've never done one, and we don't even have a report meeting. Of course, if there's something, we'll report it to everyone at the right time.

But on the other hand, we talk a lot when we meet.

Ah, that's true. It's not good to talk about something so obvious that you skip over it. Yes, we do talk. We talk a lot. When we meet with staff who are visiting customers, we talk for an hour or two. These two also have a lot of discussions.

We've known each other for over 10 years, but we still often stand outside and chat for up to four hours at a time.

I have this idea, but I wonder if there's any point in trying it out. Is it interesting? What if we had a project like this? Our relationship is one in which I present what I want to do to Nakamura. On top of that, we talk to each other a lot. In this way, we update our shared values, get inspired, and change. Nakamura believes that when starting something, it's better for one person to do it independently. He says that this brings out more individuality.

That's right. I don't really believe in things like "consensus." It makes things too loose. I feel like if everyone starts adding their own flavors to the same dish, it ends up being unappetizing. I prefer food that is individual, that is based on someone's taste, and that is made with the idea that "this is delicious, isn't it?" And people who like that food gather together.

The roles are clearly divided.

Wave Design is an image in my head, but Matsumoto sharpens the tip of the triangle, and I broaden the base. When it becomes round, Matsumoto sharpens it again, and I think it becomes stronger by repeating this process. Also, I've realized this in the last 10 years or so, but it seems that I really like giving people a push (laughs). I'm looking for a moment when I can say, "Do you want to do it? Just do it!"

What I want to do now is to create our own content while working on commissioned projects. I want to open the office on weekends and create a new community in a market-like way, and launch various projects at the gallery I manage. I'm excited to talk about this to Nakamura and the staff. It was me who said "I want to try it" even though I was taking a month off, and it was Nakamura who pushed me and put the system in place. Looking back, I'm only interested in making things more pointed. I understand that now as I talk about it (laughs).