Interview

You were selected as the main designer only in your third year at Nissan. Please tell me more about it.

I became a main designer position after my design was chosen in a sketch competition within the exterior design team. While conventional EVs often had a clean and quiet image, I wanted to showcase Nissan’s unique strength and submitted a design proposal with a divergent style. I was happy to be chosen as the main designer, but more than anything else, I was thankful for the confidence-boosting experience of feeling the joy and challenge of finalizing the vehicle design with the support of superior staff.

In my current role as main designer, I work on a wide range of projects from upstream development to production and parts. It is my responsibility to ensure that our models are appealing and meet the necessary requirements. In order to realize an attractive design, I feel that it is important to clearly convey my thoughts to the engineer, gain empathy, and pursue the ideal design. Any compromise along the way will make the car look similar to those we’ve seen somewhere. I think it’s essential to effectively communicate my ideas to the designers in order to create the most ideal designs together through collaborative efforts.

Could you share with me your approach to your daily work?

In my opinion, design requires not only technical expertise but also the ability to incorporate ideas from diverse viewpoints. I belong to the INFINITI Division, but if I only interact with members in my own division, I may limit my creative potential. So, I make a conscious effort to exchange ideas and techniques with other divisions to receive new inputs. I usually work remotely, but my colleagues, including people from other departments, are always helpful when I reach out to them through chat.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, I frequently traveled abroad for work and had many opportunities to draw inspiration from my local experience. For instance, during my trip to China, I noticed that EVs were already prevalent on the road over there. Since we design cars targeted for the North America and China, our observations and insights there helped us design cars that are more appealing to their markets.