idea No. 412 (January 2026 issue)

Feature
Tomoyuki Arima — Design Born from Relationships

Shifts in technological environments have always profoundly influenced both design and the role of the designer. Applications that once required specialized knowledge and years of technical training have evolved to offer sophisticated functionality while becoming increasingly intuitive and accessible. Today, regardless of educational background, anyone can produce a wide range of graphic expressions.

At the same time, concerns have arisen—exemplified by debates surrounding AI technologies—about whether rapidly advancing automation may ultimately take work away from human hands. As more people rely on the same applications and their built-in technical assistance, are we inadvertently producing outputs that all look the same? Rather than adjusting technology to human needs, perhaps it is humans who are being unconsciously adjusted to technology. If so, what awaits us ahead may be a kind of design—or designer—dystopia.

Tomoyuki Arima of the Arima Design Laboratory at Nippon Design Center is someone who has moved in real time with the digital innovation that began around the year 2000. Arima did not receive conventional art-school training in design. He encountered games and the internet through computers; discovered manga and anime culture on the web; learned about graphic design through music; and met people by taking part in doujin (self-published) design communities. Those connections continually expanded the scope of his work. From websites, books, packaging, and branding to animation, games, and exhibitions, he has explored design within the evolving relationship between technology and people, employing available applications as adaptable tools.

This feature offers a comprehensive view of Arima’s career. He has consistently created design that emerges from the interplay between technology and human relationships. Rather than defining his role by a fixed set of professional skills, he determines the scope of his work for each project—responding to a request when needed or pursuing his own motivation even when no request exists. Design is not bounded by “this is the limit of design”; it can also be “this, too, is design.” He works not as a designer bound by title, but as a person capable of designing. This approach inspires collaborators, blurs the boundary between client and creator, and transcends stylistic conventions—resulting in what we now recognize as “Tomoyuki Arima’s design.”

Reflecting on Arima’s work also invites us to reconsider the relationship between technology and design today, and to refocus on the indispensable presence of “people” at the heart of any design practice. For designers of the coming 2030s, his approach offers a meaningful guide. We hope this feature encourages all who aspire to design and supports them on their own path forward.

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