I once took pictures of all my colleagues in their birthday suits (at least conceptually and perceptually). As all the current and alumni of W+K Kennedy Tokyo celebrate its 20th year today, I considered how much that dear place intersected with my life and origin in this space. First of all, I never intended to get into this business. But really, who intends to be born at all, and to which family, and in what place, and at what time? It just happens to you.
All I know was that 15 odd years ago, some presence in a white suit came up to me at an exhibition opening in Tokyo and gave me his card. The card read John Jay. He invited me to come check out his office. I had no idea who he was, what Wieden+Kennedy was, or what advertising agencies did. Months later, I dropped by some morning. John gave me a tour of the digs (impressive)that he pretty much designed and introduced me to some people (even more impressive).
I went home, and in the afternoon I got a call back from John asking me if I could come back to the office that evening! The proposition was to work on a project to see if we would like to possibly continue to do more. I kindly asked if I could come in the morning instead, which he kindly obliged. The next morning I was surrounded by two dozen strangers with strange (to me) roles, titles, jobs from Amsterdam and Portland to all work on a pitch. That first day and night were my first of too many 24+ hours days and all-nighters.
The place taught me the power of creativity when leveraged by authentic, indisputable culture. It nurtured the pursuit for truly resonant ideas through the integrity of concept and craft. It burned in me the unstoppable work ethic of the Japanese x Wieden cultures. But the people . . . the most enigmatic, wild, gentle, dedicated, talented, passionate, kind set of people! And above all, they provided a family, a tribe, a belonging, a crew that could take on any adventure together.
So here’s a toast to everyone who’s been part of the journey, but especially to the ones I got to share in the crazy, the courage, the fight, the love and the humanity: John, Shurei, Hide, Sumi, Arto, Naoki, Kohei, Akio, Ted, Anthony, Hiromi, Ringo, Yoko, Masa, Shin, Shotaro, Dai, Emi, Maria, Michiyo, Tomoki, Nori, Sue, Takemi, Toshie, Toru, Yukari, Kay, Kei, Mako, Yuko, Yuka, Yohei, Kimi, Shane, Gino, Shun, Marek, Genki, Bruce, Barton, Philip, Harry, Jun, Takako, Mai, Yuka, Yohei, Kumiko, Shig, Driscoll, Byron, Hutch, Andrew, Keiko, Trish, Sumiko, Yone, Frank and Shingo.
The nail that sticks up cannot be hammered down
I remember our 10th birthday which celebrated our culture with the creative community by exhibiting a series of work at the prestigious Ginza Graphic Gallery. Of all the projects at Wieden Tokyo, one of the most profound works I had created was a mural for that exhibition. At that time, I felt it really represented us as a sub-culture and people who understood, empathized but challenged the conventional culture we lived and worked in.
The nail that sticks up will be hammered down —the Japanese proverb was an acute reminder of my everyday experience, one that reared its head even as I introduced the concept, developed, produced and made the work. At that point, I was concerned and frustrated with the state of our agency. That our work, our people, our culture were perhaps resting on our laurels and losing some of its provocative nature. So when our Wieden Tokyo staff hammered 4500 nails by hand, with every one of those nails left sticking out, it really became performance art, with so much symbolism and ethos expressed in the collective act.
The nails spelled out the proverb with a twist; it read The nail that sticks up cannot be hammered down. Turning that most familiar and practiced Japanese proverb inside out was our provocation.
It was both a defiance of a prevalent, culture of conformity but it also represented the tension and challenge of W+K Tokyo itself. The very independent culture of not only American culture but the Wieden ethos, in particular, challenged the staff and leadership of the agency as it struggled within a hybrid culture. This transformed from a personal to a collective expression of who we were. I trust that this spirit remains today 20 years on.
Shuttering the most prestigious graphic design gallery in Tokyo to instead exhibit street art on its outer walls
I also had such joy working particularly with Akio on the evolving mural with four fabulous crew (ESOW, Kami+Sasu, RDK, and SKOLOCT). For two weeks we shuttered the usually pristine, floor to ceiling windows of the gallery with plywood, turning the prestigious Ginza Graphic Gallery (ggg) inside out and putting an exhibition for the first time on its outer walls instead of merely on interior gallery walls. It celebrated not only our counter-culture approach but expanded the aperture that graphic design is beyond genre, medium, and format. All strong designs come ultimately from an intent/purpose, a concept/vision, and execution/production. The design here was to flip some of the expectations and status quo of design itself.
Each of the crews all finished murals within nights, and as soon as they were finished, the next crew would start on the same day and cover the previous work with an entirely new artwork, continual celebrating the space with a living mural.
Thanks to everyone who has made the Wieden+Kennedy Tokyo experience.
