Japan has one of the Highest Design Traditions

Eduardo GALVANI

Galvani Creative Co., Ltd, produces a diverse range of media including multimedia products, TV, print, websites, videos, photography, advertising, packaging and much more.

"I come to Japan to stay for two months - that was 16 years ago!" Eduardo says about how he first got going in Japan after previously spending time working as an Art Director in Italy, Brazil and New York. "By that time, I had no idea how difficult it would be to get established in Tokyo. In many countries, even if nobody knows you, you can still phone prospective clients and ask to present your portfolio. This is not the case in Japan - everything is based on referrals and someone that knows someone else who will introduce you."

How did Eduardo get his first job? "First, I started begging to be allowed to present my work to companies. For several months I received so little work. Luckily, the small stream of work become larger and I found a position at the biggest design company in Japan at that time."

Eduardo continued, "The time between the first contact to the point that you actually are trusted enough to be given some work from a new client in Japan is enough to allow MICHELANGELO to paint the Sistine Chapel's ceiling several times over!"

"Japan has one of the highest design traditions in the world and quality and reliability is a national obsession," Eduardo says. "Just to be able to compete in this market is for me a privilege and a prize in itself. When we created the Sony label for CD-R and other recording media and had it adopted all over the world, it was an overwhelming feeling to see our work sold by the million worldwide. The same thing happened when we were asked by Japanese food manufacturer Pokka to design a green tea label for the Japanese market - or when our KDDI TV commercial aired for three consecutive years; those were some of the best moments."

A good point about working in Japan, he says, is that Japanese clients are very loyal. "If you are lucky enough to have your proposal approved and become successful in the market, it is very likely that you will keep receiving new jobs from that client for many years. Nevertheless, you can never take anything from granted and the sales efforts are endless."

Eduardo says his business will never become a very large design company because the kind of care and attention they provide to each client and project limits their output to a maximum number of clients. "If we give up this concept, we will become just another design company, and there's no fun in that. In ten years from now, I see my company with about 10~20 talented professionals giving me support and at least twice as many regular clients - but still keeping all the ones we have now."

Galvani Creative Co., Ltd.
www.galvani.net

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