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Our goal is to achieve the smoothest possible transmission of your
thoughts and words, including context and nuance. We have achieved
an easy flow working together for ten years on a variety of projects,
written and spoken. Click images for previews, or download PDFs of selected work.
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BOOKS |
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DESIGNING DESIGN (Lars Müller Publishers)
This comprehensive work, in which Kenya Hara delves deeply into his design philosophy
and the Japanese context of his work and worldview, in addition to presenting his work
in luscious photographs, was a precious project for Takumi. Working closely with the
client for more than a year on production, then being able to promote the book in the
English-language design press and through a lecture tour was an extremely satisfying
experience. Designing Design was Lars Müller Publishers’ best selling book in 2007.
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MORIMOTO CHIE WORKS 1999-2010 (Seibundō Shinkōsha)
Takumi strove to replicate in English the fanciful writing of art director Chie Morimoto as she described her worldview, her memories, her connections, attractions and attachments.
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FILING (Senden Kaigi)
Detailing the studies of filing practices of creators of all kinds, Filing was the brainchild
of designer Kenya Hara and inter-design artist Makoto Orisaki, but includes deep and
far-ranging conversations and an incredible range of three-dimensional creative filing
solutions that open the viewer/reader to the possibilities of following both instinct and
rational thought in arranging things to make sense to the arranger. The concept behind the
exhibition was that filing is in and of itself a creative activity that can accept and utilize
chaos, via the concepts of classification and its opposite, what Hara calls “EXformation”
the approach to the essence of something by understanding how little we know of it. We
are always happy to work on projects of depth.
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MUJI (Rizzoli)
For this project, personal issues prevented Takumi from participating as its customary
partnership, so Hohle represented Takumi with a different native Japanese partner, and worked with a larger team than usual, including a pair of Rizzoli’s editors and a coordinator. This comprehensive volume covers MUJI’s concept, early days and future plans. This was one instance when working from both the US and Japan was invaluable in facilitating a tight
turnaround and allowing Takumi to assist with late-hour translation and proofreading, fulfilling
numerous roles in both locations.
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HAPTIC (By Kenya Hara and Nippon Design Center’s Hara Design Institute,
Published by Asahi Shimbunsha)
The HAPTIC exhibition explored design as it relates to the senses, and allowed many creators to define essential haptic adventures. Among those who exhibited were a plaster craftsman, product designers, artists, Panasonic’s home appliance design group, and architects. As is true of so many of Kenya Hara’s projects, HAPTIC included conversations in which subjects were more thoroughly parsed. It is our pleasure to relay these live discussions to a wide audience so that the unique and deep perspectives of the creators are not lost in the crevices between the beautiful images.
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TAKAHIRO NAGINO MONOGRAPH ARTIST STATEMENT, CAPTIONS (2009, Robundo, Tokyo)
Between 1983 and 2003, Illustrator Takahiro Nagino made about 80 posters for Studio Alta, a retail high-rise in the center of Tokyo’s Shinjuku area. A selection of his Alta posters are presented in this volume. Takumi translated the praise of several of Nagino’s colleagues and other admirers, as well as the artist’s statement and captions. It is our challenge and pleasure to relay the unique voices of these individual creators as authentically as possible.
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A THOUSAND SMILES IN INDIA: VARANASI, BENGALI TOLA (Self-published by intense-inc.com)
This was a small, self-published book by photographer Seizo Terasaki and designer Masami Uehara, friends of the US half of Takumi. Maggie thoroughly enjoyed translating Uehara’s lighthearted and personalized captions describing two weeks imbibing the life of Bengali Tola, an alley in the city of Varanasi on the Ganges. Uehara’s thorough knowledge of the area and easy use of Hindi helped him capture and relate the context of these small but integral shops and their proprietors.
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ARTICLES / BOOKLETS |
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IDEA MAGAZINE (#333: Emil Ruder Typography)
Takumi translated editor Kiyonori Muroga’s opening letter introducing this issue, focusing on the philosophy and work of Emil Ruder.
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GATEWAY TO OPEN DIALOGUES
This 216-page publication chronicles International Design Center Nagoya’s activities in the decade 1992-2007. The opening of the IdcN building was in 1997, and has proven an important resource for Japanese designers in the Chubu region, whose exposure to international events had previously been limited to those held in the metropolitan centers of Tokyo and Osaka. Takumi has been instrumental in forging IdcN’s international conversation on design.
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MINI OPTICAL POWER METER MANUAL AND CATALOG
For one of Naito’s friends, Takumi utilized family connections in the lighting field to check our translation of this manual and catalog describing the use of a miniature optical power meter. Takumi enjoys a challenge and contributing to a higher standard in translation of manuals around the world. |
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CONFERENCES / WORKSHOPS |
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VISUALOGUE: 2003 ICOGRADA CONFERENCE
This conference of the International Council of Graphic Design Associations was the first and only (to date) to be held in Asia, and the preparatory materials required not only translation, but additional explanation to the ICOGRADA leadership. Japanese is a vague language, and in many creative situations defies the logical arrangement of statement-argument-support-statement so familiar in English. Both halves of Takumi also worked the event, helping to write the independent Japanese and English summaries presented in the event’s daily newspaper.
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IDCN INTERNATIONAL NEW DESIGNERS WORKSHOP [2007, 2008, 2009]
Translating the outlines, registration materials, coursework explanations and then participant reports from this annual is one of Takumi’s most enjoyable perennial projects. The young, internationally schooled participants express an uplifting interest and excitement in learning more about their field and one another through this vital experience, and we are proud to be part of the conversation, through translation. |
NAGOYA DESIGN DO! CONCEPT, MAYOR'S GREETING
This was an annual international competition whose theme in 2009 was Design to Empower Tomorrow. Nagoya’s 400th anniversary is 2010, so envisioning the future was a natural choice. Typically, Takumi translates the concept explanation, mayor’s greeting and other supporting material. |
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EXHIBITION MATERIALS |
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JAPAN CAR (2004)
Paris: November 1-9, 2009, Cité des Sciences et de l’industrie
London: November 29-April 19, 2009, Science Museum
Takumi supported this exhibition with translation of introductory lectures and captions.
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TOKYO FIBER HARDCOVER CATALOG, EXHIBITION PANELS, PROFILES, CAPTIONS
We translated exhibition panels and the hardcover catalog, which ended up at 224 pages (Asahi Shimbun, 2007) and included three creators’ symposia as well as introductory text, profiles and captions. The goal was to introduce to an international public the new relationships among people, fibers and the environment, with a focus on artificial “intelligent” fibers that respond to the environment and reshape it with new technologies. Exhibitors ranged from Honda’s R&D department to architect Shigeru Ban and installation and interactive media artist Toshio Iwai. Translating this exciting material was a learning process for all involved; how do you describe the concept behind Marukko, designer Kenmei Nagaoka’s giant ball made of fake fur, or explain how architect Takuya Onishi’s Aero Space Suit is to be worn and then used as a shelter? Faced with these challenges, we were happy to be able to interact with the client, freely obtaining clarification of unusual concepts and contexts in order to present a final product that would make sense to an international audience, regardless of whether or not the reader had attended the exhibition. Fabulous photography with meaningful captions certainly helped us meet that goal.
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AIDS Poster Exhibition (2006)
For this exhibition, sponsored by UNICEF and the Organization of Advertising Creation (OAC), Takumi translated the outline, concept, captions and profiles of the 27 exhibiting design firms. |
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ADVERTISING / PR |
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MUJI Ads Let’s Talk Houses (2007), Real Furniture (2007), Let’s Be Tender (2008), Like Water (2009)
Translating MUJI’s essay-like ads is an enlightening exercise in cross-cultural description and conveyance. MUJI’s audience is international, and largely made up of those who are as attached to the concepts behind the products as they are to the products themselves. MUJI’s copywriters strive to make each essay a meaningful deliberation on a concept, and we work to make sure that each sentence relates genuinely to the larger point while staying true to the author’s intention.
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CREATIVE DESIGN CITY NAGOYA 2009 (IdcN)
Together and separately, the partners of Takumi have been translating materials and
otherwise assisting in the development of the International Design Center Nagoya for
nearly a decade. |
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Creative Design City Nagoya 2009
Takumi translated various materials for the City of Nagoya to support its bid to become
a UNESCO Creative Design City and join the UNESCO Creative Cities Network,
essentially creating the international voice for the city of Nagoya in this capacity. Takumi handled the Japanese-English translation of the text, and the English-Japanese translation of Mr.
Wood’s keynote address, Towards a Synergy-of-Synergies.
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COUNCIL OF CHUBU DESIGN ORGANIZATIONS INTRODUCTION
Since 2000, Takumi has translated various materials for this regional 16-member cross-disciplinary design network. |
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SPOKEN WORK / BOOK PROMOTION |
International Design Forum (2009)
This event, held in Nagoya on November 27, 2009, included a public presentation of
the International New Designers Workshop (2009), a keynote address by John Wood,
Professor of Design, Goldsmiths, University of London, and a panel discussion among
seven representatives of other UNESCO Cities of Design.
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Lectures, Kenya Hara, promoting Designing Design in the US, the Netherlands, and Germany (2008)
Kenya Hara, designer and author, promoted Designing Design internationally. Takumi
translated his lectures and presentations, and Maggie Hohle assisted by promoting the
book and arranging for the lectures in the United States. Hohle has been translating Mr.
Hara’s spoken and written work since 2001, when Hohle and Hara met on the occasion of
an interview Hohle conducted for a profile commissioned by Graphis magazine. Takumi
has been translating Hara’s work since its formation in 2003. |
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