Norio Fujikawa

Norio Fujikawa is an insane industrial designer and is also creative director over at Astro Studios in San Fran. He was nice enough to answer some questions from a monkee correspondent, check out what he has to say about his design process, where his love for design came from and much, much more...

Could you tell us a little about yourself?

Although my name may suggest otherwise, I was born and raised in the U.S. I studied at the Institute of Design in Chicago, worked my way to San Francisco by way of Minneapolis, MN at Worrell Design to Fitch in Columbus, OH and SF. I freelanced for a couple years before hooking up with Astro Studios about 6 years ago. Yes, I’ve been at this for a while now.

How did you get into design?

My brother was studying architecture and suggested that I check out the ID school, which was in the basement of the architecture building at the time. He said that they do cool stuff and thought it might suit me because I liked to draw and build things. I hate to admit when my brother is right about anything, but he was right.

What’s your favorite aspect about design?

It is an activity that is equally left and right brain.

What is your design process?

At Astro we break down our process into three stages;

1.      Define – Immerse the team in relevant data by engaging clients and consumers to collect needs, insights, hopes and dreams. Then generate ideas and a strong point-of-view.

2.      Design – Crank up the team to design, develop, and refine concepts by creating unique imagery, data and tools for review and eventual hand-off for production.

3.      Deploy – Transfer design data to production resources and remain on call to oversee design intent throughout implementation.

For my personal work, I would say that it is a similar process in that I define what I want to create, explore concepts and ideas, and then produce a final piece.

Do you find time to work on your own designs as well as be creative director at, Astro?

It’s a challenge to find the time but I try to make the most of it when I do. That’s probably why I have so many projects started and still waiting to be completed.

How do you keep fresh (creative wise)?

The best way to keep fresh for me is to check out what other people are doing. There is so much great work online that it’s easy to stay motivated and challenged.

What utensils and programs do you use and why? (Sketching to 3D modeling)

Pen and paper is first and foremost. It can’t be said enough how important that basic tool and skill is. After that, it really depends on what needs to be done on a project at Astro or what I want to do for personal work. I still use markers for quick color on a sketch. I break out colored pencils and acrylic paints for illustrations whenever I can. Adobe Illustrator and/or Photoshop is used for 2D renderings or to touch up 3D renderings. Alias is what I use for 3D models because it’s what I’ve always used. Hypershot (for now) is what I use for rendering because it’s so easy to use to get great results. At Astro we often need to build physical study and final appearance models because sometimes you just need to touch and hold it.

Any sites we should check out?

Are there any other than Monkeedesign.com? There are too many great site with great work so I’ll keep it to the ones I post my work,  Behance.net  and  Deviantart.com . I, of course, have to mention  Astrostudios.com .   

Do you have any advice to young designers?

Be a sponge. I genuinely feel that what I produce is a result of what I’ve learned from the talented designers and artists that I have had the pleasure of meeting and working with.

Big Monkee Love to Norio for the interview. Check out Astro for the latest on his (and his staff's) designs.

Comments

[Gamal]

Great post/interview, man! Inspiring in its lightness and freshness. To all those Justin Harmons, Jon Lees, Erik Moses(es), Dan Sterlings, David Shors, Kevin Dohns, Brandon Lynnes, Dave Hohmans, and James Farrans grinding it out: I think Norio is you guys in 10, 15 yrs. (or less) ... and maybe me in like 20?

G!