Q&A − Sakai Design Associate | よくある質問 − サカイデザインアソシエイツ | 常见问题 − 酒井设计联合有限公司

Q1. What areas of design can I request?

Electric appliance design, furniture design, and product design are handled under contract with client companies, covering the full process from initial product concept through to mass production (up to the T2 checkpoint), based on the client’s specifications.

We have also designed concept models that visualize future products since the company’s founding, with a track record mainly with electronics and automotive manufacturers.

For branding, product planning, and regional revitalization projects, we can support work from the earliest planning and concept stages. In every case, our proposals are built around products that are already on sale or scheduled for release.

We also handle workshop-style product development that doubles as training for staff across different departments within a client company. This is one of our distinguishing features: a unique method in which we run workshops that help a company’s internal product development move forward smoothly, while advancing an actual product in parallel. We have collaborated in this way with the product development, design, marketing, and R&D departments of companies including POLA, Sekisui House, Kao, and Asahi Breweries.

We also have a track record of consulting for numerous Michelin-starred restaurants — including Ichirin, Li Jia Cai, Nabeno-Ism, and Piaoxiang — as well as branding and product development for Japanese confectionery shops, dessert cafés, and farms. The food and restaurant industry often operates on a different scale from other industries, so we take on this kind of food design and restaurant consulting work at significantly lower fees. This limits the number of clients we can support, but please feel free to reach out.

Q2. What is the process from inquiry to delivery?

For industrial product design, after your initial inquiry we conduct a hearing session, then move through field research, concept proposals, design development, and prototyping, before submitting the final surface (outer-shape) data. We continue to provide consistent support right up until mass production begins. As a rule, our standard scope of work concludes at the T2 stage or at low-volume production. If mold/tooling data is required, its creation is outsourced to an external partner, though the surface data we deliver can be used as the basis for that tooling data. The specific workflow is determined together with the client based on the scale and content of each project.

Wherever possible, we also ask to be allowed to visit the factory in advance and to check prototypes on site. Establishing an environment where we can communicate directly with the client’s engineers helps product development proceed smoothly.

Q3. Can you support mass production and manufacturing?

Yes, in collaboration with outside engineers and factories. For example, with the wearable device “synapseWear,” we handled not only the design but also the mechanical engineering and mass production, working end to end. Depending on the project, we also provide design support suited to small-lot production.

Q4. What awards have you received in the past?

Our work has received numerous awards, including the Good Design Award (Tanita Body Composition Monitor, Marutaka Celebisu Massage Chair, Fuji Iryoki AS960S), the red dot design award (COMCOM home network appliance), Pen CREATIVE AWARDS Best Design (PTP Spider DVD Recorder), A’ Design Award Silver Winner (Foster Electric KOTORI501, Reliance 2300 Series), and the A’ Design Award Bronze Winner and Kids Design Award (Asahi Print COLETTE Abacus), among others. Our work has also been featured extensively in magazines and books — please see https://www.sakaidesign.com/media/ for more.

Q5. Do you have a track record with overseas clients?

Yes. We have worked with international clients including The LEGO Group (Denmark), LG Electronics Inc. (South Korea), British American Tobacco (UK / Japan), Regal Ware, Inc. (USA), adidas America, Inc. (USA), and Shanghai Jiugong Industry Co., Ltd. (China), among others.

Q6. What fields of product design do you specialize in?

From automobiles (a Fuji Heavy Industries concept car) to tableware (Noda Horo), we cover a wide range, so there is no particular field we are weak in. When working in a new field, we take the time to review the manufacturing process in detail beforehand. We sometimes hear stories along the lines of, “We asked a designer for a design — the exterior looked great, but manufacturing problems came up and it couldn’t be turned into a product, or it ended up costing so much it wasn’t competitive.” At our company, we spend ample time verifying the manufacturing process and understanding the specific constraints of each factory before proceeding with the design, so there’s no need to worry about that kind of outcome.

Q7. What is the general fee range for design work?

Based on our track record to date, fees typically range from around 1 million to 30 million yen. This does not necessarily apply to food-related projects or to smaller clients we have taken a particular interest in — royalty-based arrangements can also be considered in those cases.

Q8. Can you exchange data using either 2D or 3D CAD systems?

Basically, we mainly exchange 3D data using the STEP format. Depending on the CAD system you use, collaboration via the cloud may also be possible. We can also accommodate 2D workflows — in that case, we will provide our deliverables as printed output, physical models, or in a format viewable with common 3D viewer software.