In July 2023, Nissha launched “Nissha SurfaceWorks,” a business brand that integrates the aesthetic and molding technologies developed over many years. By adding sophisticated appearances, pleasant tactile sensations, and functionality to surfaces—the first point of contact between people and products—Nissha SurfaceWorks provides experiential value that resonates with people’s sensibilities. One year after the brand’s release, team members involved in its operation gathered to reflect on the value of “SurfaceWorks” and to consider the comfortable future they aim to create through their efforts.
Discussion Members
Mark Nomura: Creative Director, Design & CMF, Marketing Department, Industrial Materials Business Unit, Nissha Co., Ltd.
Mai Miyoshi: Corporate Communication Department, Public Relations Group and concurrently Marketing Group, Marketing Department, Industrial Materials Business Unit
Ryuichi Takeda: Communication Designer, Design & CMF, Marketing Department, Industrial Materials Business Unit
Maho Nohara: Marketing Group, Marketing Department, Industrial Materials Business Unit
Endless Pursuit of “Expression” in a World of Shifting Trends
“SurfaceWorks” proposes a manufacturing approach that balances the emotional value of colors, textures, and tactile sensations with the functional value integrated into the product’s surface.
Nomura: To meet our customers’ evolving needs, we have expanded the range of film materials and printing techniques over the past 40 years. While gravure printing may not be the latest technology, it provides an exceptionally delicate medium that enables a wide array of high-precision expressions. Every day, we explore surfaces that evoke emotion by harnessing this technological expertise.
Nomura, Head of the Design & CMF Group
A sample book summarizing design proposals by theme
Takeda: When creating artworks for the production of “Nissha Trend Vision” and sample books, our designers work thoroughly to the limits of what is visible. They construct everything with unwavering dedication, never compromising. I believe this mindset embodies our identity.
Nomura: Because each of our employees is so dedicated, our clients respond with equal commitment, which brings us great satisfaction. While efficiency is essential in business, I believe there is a trust that develops through the process of repeated prototyping between Nissha and our clients. Even after delivery, clients have expressed their gratitude, saying, “Thanks to your commitment, we were able to fully refine the color we wanted to achieve, and it’s an experience we’ll always remember.”
As a Partner in Realzing the Future Our Customers Envision
Miyoshi: Reflecting on a project with SUBARU CORPORATION, a designer told us that our factory manager’s comment, “Designers can expect more,” left a lasting impression. It made me realize that our experience of persistently and sincerely responding to high client demands is encapsulated in those words. This commitment to tackling difficult manufacturing challenges has built trust and contributed to our growth.
Mr. Jun Shioda, Manager, Design Dept., Corporate Planning Div., SUBARU CORPORATION
Conducting workshops together with SUBARU designers
Nissha regularly holds workshops with clients using “Nissha Trend Vision,” which incorporates unique insights from trend research, and design collections (sample books) to explore future users and products.
Nohara: Our strength lies not only in our ability to realize delicate design expressions, but also in our global development and production systems. This has allowed us to carve out a unique position in the market.
Nomura: Recently, we visited a European client with whom we had been somewhat distant due to the pandemic, bringing along a sample book. During our visit to an automobile manufacturer, the client’s reaction noticeably shifted before and after our presentation. They became intrigued, asking, “Can you achieve such a wide range of expressions?” By the end of the presentation, other designers from different departments had joined us, and we were met with warm applause and comments like, “I’m glad I attended today!”
Nomura: I believe they gained a renewed appreciation for the breadth of our design capabilities and realized that we could propose creativity beyond their expectations while capturing global trends. At the same time, we felt the need to actively convey our 40 years of accumulated experience and achievements.
Takeda: We want to thoroughly explore the fun of expression. Thinking as a team about what concept to convey, what expression methods, and techniques match that will lead to providing seamless experiences for drawing a “comfortable future for all.”
Innovation Between a “Comfortable Future for All” and Technology
Last year, the brand management team created a concept book for Nissha SurfaceWorks, distilling the values and experiences we have provided into four core values.
1. Translation – Understanding Customer’s Needs
We understand our customers’ latent needs and translate them into future products they want to realize. By combining materials and processes such as printing and molding, utilizing accumulated knowledge and reliable technologies, we make a wide range of customized decorative designs and forms possible.
2. Materialization – Production System to Embodying Customers’ Wants
We leverage production technology and a global network to bring our customers’ wants to life. At our global development centers and production bases, our ability to build processes from design and responsibility to realize ideas into actual form and bring them into mass production are leading to high-quality and superior manufacturing.
3. Experience – New Value Experience Through Design and Functionality
From the concept of “Surface Design,” we generate innovation at the touchpoints between people and technology. By balancing sensory values such as comfort and beauty with functional values such as convenience and safety, we offer completely new experiences like never before.
4. Living Forward – Exploring Future Oriented Value Proposition
To realize one step ahead into the future that customers desire, we carefully analyze and predict market changes and trends. Along with the latest technology, we aim for a world where human qualities are cherished and seek to create comfortable products even for our future selves.
Nomura: When thinking about the future of “SurfaceWorks,” I believe contributing to better living through products and services related to health and addressing social issues, as discussed in the March workshop, will be key themes. We will expand our focus to areas where we excel, such as mobility and devices.
Nohara: Reducing the overload of everyday information and providing clear, intuitive designs and seamless experiences are at the heart of the “comfort” our brand aims to deliver.
Takeda: The ultimate comfort is being so integrated into daily life that it goes unnoticed. We are surrounded by many things in our daily lives, but proposing a future where we don’t need to consider “why we need comfort” would be ideal.
Nomura: My family tends to a small garden every year, and even amidst our busy days, there are moments we want to cherish together. I want to be part of manufacturing that helps create a future where such moments can be naturally appreciated. For instance, what elements should be included in interfaces we want to use for a long time? What kind of world would it be where evolving technology and humans coexist harmoniously? It’s difficult to put these sensory experiences into words, but I want to create moments that make people feel, “Somehow, this is really wonderful.”
Miyoshi: This might sound a bit abstract, being able to be oneself and live authentically creates a cycle that enriches life, and I believe this will generate the comfort of the future. I imagine a future where, by eliminating the anxieties and worries we feel every day, we can fully step on the “accelerator of being ourselves” and live freely. It may take time, but I hope we can become a brand that supports such a future.
If you are interested in Nissha SurfaceWorks’ initiatives or exploring business partnerships, please feel free to contact us.