2022
09.06
INTERVIEW
A poster of my choice / Parityclub
We interviewed the buyers about their work and life after they purchased a poster at POSTERS.
Parityclub is a design company based in Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture, that offers comprehensive creative solutions, including CI/VI, flyers and posters, website production, event planning and management, and 3D design. The firm was in charge of creative direction for the San'in Chuo Shimpo's special feature newspaper created in conjunction with the All-Japan Advertising Federation San'in Conference (May 2021). Parityclub is attracting attention as one of Shimane's leading design firms. For this interview, we spoke with president Yuya Takijiri, director Daichi Sawano, and designer Satoshi Takijiri.
Q. You purchased two posters, one for the president's personal use and one for the company. Why did you choose Ohara Daijiro's work for your personal use?
Yuya Takijiri: I immediately decided to purchase Ohara's Daily Mobile series. I like posters using photographs, but I was also attracted by the impact of the almost pure white bottom half of the poster. My room is monotone, with few objects and mostly black furniture, so I thought that the white part of the poster would make the most of it. However, I had a hard time deciding which of the three works in the series to choose. The shadows on the buildings and lawn were different depending on the time of day. In the end, I chose the work with the larger shadow area, but I really enjoyed the time I spent comparing the balance between the green lawn, black shadows, and white margins, and choosing my favorite.
Q. How do you decorate your room?
Yuya Takijiri : I have decided to display only one poster in my room. Therefore, I chose a poster that would be the star of the room. I chose a large A1 size poster and hung it in a place where it would be seen by many people.
Q. You chose Kaoru Kasai's work for your company. Could you tell us the reason for this as well?
Satoshi Takijiri: I chose the work to be displayed at the company. Actually, Kasai is the person who inspired me to become a designer. When I was in design school, I had a strong image of advertisements like supermarket flyers, but when I encountered Kasai's work, I realized that this type of graphic design existed. I especially liked the advertisements for United Arrows. I admired how a familiar clothing brand could be expressed in such a cool way. He made me want to do my best in designing advertisements.
Q. You placed it on the floor in your office.
Satoshi Takijiri : I try to reflect them during ZOOM meetings (laughs). It is cool to simply display posters on the wall, but I also like to have posters casually in the midst of miscellaneous things. I wanted to give it a sense of presence even among the various things on the wall, so I decided on a size of A0. I also feel that the blue of the artwork goes well with the pale blue of the office walls.
Q. Could you tell us about your company's work? I heard that you started out as an event company, but after you became president, your focus shifted to design.
Yuya Takijiri: Parity Club was started by my father about 30 years ago, and we have been involved in events that help revitalize the local community government and media, etc. When my father passed away in 2017, I suddenly took over as president while I was out of the prefecture. I wanted to grow the company into one that could offer more comprehensive creative proposals, as events are inevitably the main focus of the company and are easily influenced by the external environment. I restarted the company with my brother, who had already joined the company as a designer, we now have 12 employees.
Q. Are there any projects that have left a lasting impression on you in recent years?
Sawano: Last year, the San-in Conference of the All-Japan Advertising Federation was held in Shimane, and it is customary for local newspapers to create feature pages that convey the appeal of the region. I was in charge of creative direction for that paper. When I was thinking about what kind of content would be appropriate, I heard that a photographer from Shimane, Tamotsu Fujii, had just made a return to his birthplace. The prefecture is encouraging this kind of return and call it an “U-turn” and we were very interested in having Mr. Fujii take photos that would convey the charms of Shimane, so we asked him if he would be willing to do so. Along with Mr. Fujii's wonderful photographs, it became a representative job that served as a business card for us as well.
Q. I understand that while you are rooted in the local community, you are also involved in work outside the prefecture.
Sawano : Through various connections, such work is gradually increasing. I was introduced by Mr. Fujii, and was involved in the production of "Tamotsu Fujii and Mikiya Takimoto: A Letter Back and Forth," which was published by Graphic. The art direction was by Kaoru Kasai! Satoru Takijiri was in charge of the typesetting with a trembling heart.
Satoshi Takijiri: I never thought that I would be able to work on this project. The instructions from Kasai I received were just like the works I had seen at exhibitions, and I was excited by every single one of them, learning a lot about how to think about letter types and placement.
Q. What kind of work do you want to do in the future?
Yuya Takijiri: I will carry on the desire to revitalize the community that has been at the root of my work since my father's generation. I believe that our mission is to create the future for young people, and design is a means to that end. First of all, I would like to become the number one design company in Shimane. If we look at the Corona disaster in a positive light, the barriers between regions have been lowered, and I would like to use our ability to connect with people outside of the prefecture as a strength. There are two aspects to my purchase of the poster this time. One is the joy of being surrounded by things we love in our daily lives, and the other is that as a design company, we think it will provide us with the motivation we need to propose these great designs. I feel that the company gives me vitality in both my personal and professional life.
