We’re sure there’s more than a few designers who were influenced and inspired by the
pages you did for +81 in those days.
How do you feel about your handiwork in hindsight?
When I look back at what I did now I can’t
help but feel embarrassed. I don’t see anything good in
it at all. +81 was very much an
independent magazine back then with none of the recognition it has now, to the
point that it was just barely lucky enough to find shelf space in major
bookstores. We’re also of course talking about when
there was no social media, when even e-mail was just barely catching on, so I
really had no clue what the world thought of my work or what the readers were
saying. The +81 editorial office
consisted of only three people: Satoru Yamashita, the owner, Hachiga as the editor, and me as the designer. My PC,
monitor, and printer were also all my own that I had brought in. All I did was
work, just a succession of going into the office and heading back home, day
after day. I also had to take the photos or film
video if I went along on interviews overseas,
not to mention foot my own travel expenses, which made all my design pay vanish
with a poof. And yet when I think back on it all now, we really did make a
great team.
