What is the
importance of typography in design in your opinion?
It is everywhere. I think that maybe
answers the question itself.
Aside from
conveying the meanings of words to readers, what sort of role do you think
typeface/typography plays?
I can be whatever you want it to be: a
tool, a voice, an expression, an image, a vessel,
content...
Including style and philosophy, could you express what kind of designer
you are?
I don’t know... I don’t necessarily subscribe to the idea that design should make our lives easier. In any case, I prefer to let the work speak for itself.
In
Japan, type design and graphic design are often considered to be different
professions. You're also a graphic designer, but you're widely known as a type
designer. How do you feel about that?
The
online world sort of generates the image itself. My typefaces have much more
visibility, because I have a digital type foundry that comes
with the website. The design projects, on the other
hand, are usually results of long term collaborations, or direct connections.
My work as graphic designer is perhaps too serendipitous, and I have not yet found a satisfying
way of how to present it online. But your question made me wonder
about it once again... I will keep searching.