A True Professional

Work that feels like it pushes through by sheer grit.

I feel that, when it comes to paint and coating, Musashi is the one who raised me. We first met when I was in my twenties working as a product designer at an electronics manufacturer. I was young, so I think I was pretty cocky. It was Musashi that drilled the fundamentals of paint and coating technology into me from scratch.

After that, I moved to KDDI and went on to launch the “au design project,” but that project could never have succeeded without Musashi Paint. We were absolutely desperate to open a new door in the function-first world of mobile phones by bringing the value of design. The media reported it in glamorous terms, but the reality on the ground behind the scenes was gritty. Our obsessions clashed, and we were always right up against the clock. In those pressured circumstances, we were saved time and again by the professionalism Musashi demonstrated. If I had to sum up their work in one phrase, it would be “muscling through with sheer grit.” They were truly a reliable presence.

An Experience That Revealed an Engineer’s Soul

I still have an unforgettable memory from when we were making the flagship model for the “au design project.”

Of the three color variations, two were decided on Musashi, but only the model using red adopted another company’s paint due to a subtle difference in color development. However, in the subsequent promotion, the red model was used as the main one, so Musashi may have felt frustrated.

A few months later, a sealed envelope arrived for me. When I opened it, there was a beautifully coated red on a metal plate.

The color development was spectacular. If we had had this color, it would have been adopted without question. The sender was listed as Musashi Paint, but not even a single note was enclosed. I felt as though an engineer’s soul had been thrust up against my throat. I will never forget this incident for the rest of my life. Since then, I have often used it as a story in talks and lectures.

PROFILE

After working as a product designer at an electronics manufacturer, he launched the “au design project” at KDDI Corporation in 2001 and, as design director, brought numerous mobile devices to market. Founded Kom&Co.Design in 2006.