The Job of a Relational Design Producer

I wonder when it started.
The moment I stopped knowing how to explain my own job.

"What is it that you do?"

Every time I am asked that,

It's not quite branding.
It's not quite management.
It's not quite direction.
It's not quite consulting.

I have to think about it for a moment every time.

What I do for a living is
think about the structure before the final product is born.

Who is it for?
What is being conveyed?
What should be kept, and what should be cut?
Who, where, and what role should they take on to perform at their best?

And,
who should take the lead
so that the value is conveyed most naturally?

I have always been thinking about things like that.

I do not create.

When I worked at a production company,

there were people who designed.
There were people who wrote.
There were people who took photos.
There were people who programmed.

I did none of those things.

Instead, what I thought about was,

Who would be able to perform best at this job?
Which writer could capture the vision of this company?
Which designer could express this worldview?

And,
if I combined this person with that person, who would bring out the best in each other?

That was it.

It is not just about ability.
There is chemistry.
Even with the same people,
if the combination changes, the results change surprisingly.

I have been doing
a job that looks at the space between people,
rather than a job that just looks at people.

That is why what I was thinking about was
not the deliverables themselves, but the flow in which those deliverables naturally emerge.

Putting the right person in the right place does not end with just looking at the people.

“This person is good at design.”
“This person is good at writing.”

Of course, those things are important too.

But work does not move forward with just that.

Who listens to the story first?
Who organizes it?
Who gives it shape?
Who delivers it at the end?

Just by changing that flow,
the quality of the work changes significantly, even with the same members.

That is why I
do not really have the feeling that I have been placing people.

“I have been thinking about relationships where value is naturally conveyed.”

That feeling is closer.

Working backward from the Mission

Even after leaving the production company,
the starting point of my work has not changed.

The first thing I read is the Mission.

Why does that organization
exist?
To whom do they want to deliver what?
What are they trying to leave for the future?

I start thinking from there.

That is why I listen to the stories of people in different positions as much as possible.

Even within the same organization,
the scenery they see is surprisingly different.

Once the Mission comes into view, for me,

Who do you want to reach?
What do you want to prioritize?

The outline begins to emerge little by little.

And,
there is one more thing that concerns me.

"Are we truly able to move toward that mission right now?"

If perceptions differ depending on one's position,
where do those differences come from?

My work begins
by observing that.

What I am designing is the relationship between people and value.

I
do not want to make a website.
I do not want to make a brochure either.
I do not want to organize a system.
I do not want to create rules.

If necessary, I will do those things too.

But that is not the goal.

What I am looking at is,

how value can reach people naturally.
When do people feel convinced?
How can it be conveyed from person to person without force?

It is that kind of flow.

That is why I
look at "what kind of relationship is born"
rather than "what to create."

What I am thinking about is "ease of play."

And, one more thing,
there is something I am always thinking about.

"What kind of state allows a player
to perform at their best, most authentic self?"

I do not want to play on someone else's behalf.

Where should this person stand to move most easily?
Who should they partner with to unleash their potential?
What order would make the conversation feel natural?
What position would allow their words to reach people most effectively?

That is why,
I change my own position each time as well.

Sometimes I stand at the front.
Sometimes I take a step back.
Sometimes I speak by saying, "I am an outsider."

It is not about how I want to be seen.

It is because I am thinking about whose words will reach people most naturally in that situation.

It was the same when I was at a production company.

I was not the presenter.

While the writers and designers spoke,
I observed everyone's reactions.

If I sensed a "?" from the client,
I would voice it for them,
or nod and say, "I see!"
I chose the role that kept the discussion moving naturally.

And, I,
do not want to change the players.
I do not want to replace them either.

I want to create a state where the players
can play easily.

As a result, that person shines the brightest.

I think I just love seeing that.

The more invisible the work, the harder it is to convey.

My work,
rarely remains as a tangible deliverable.
Therefore, it is often not evaluated.

It is only understood by those who get it.

The creator's name is listed on a website.
Brochures remain.
Videos remain.
Sales figures remain.

But,
"Let's pair this person with that person."
"This order seems like it will get the message across."
"Cutting this part might make it clearer."
"If I pose this question, a dialogue might begin."

Such judgments,
do not remain in any form.
They do not become numbers either.

"Things went well this time, somehow."

Even when told that,
no one can see why it went well.
It is never spoken of.

That is why
the value of this work is difficult to convey.

But I
know that those invisible parts
affect the quality of the entire project.

So I
do not think about what to do after a problem occurs, but rather
how to create a flow where problems are less likely to occur.

I do not want to be the protagonist.

I
do not want to be evaluated myself.
I do not want to be in the spotlight either.

What I want to see is
value being properly delivered.
Delivered to the people who need it.

And
that this value
naturally spreads from person to person.

I do not mind if my name is not left there.

If the value is delivered, that is enough.

That is what I think.

Relational Design Producer

Recently, I finally
encountered a title that made me think,
“Ah, this might be the closest term.”

“ Relational Design Producer ”

Rather than someone who connects people, I am someone who designs relationships.

Person to person.
Person to value.
Person to organization.

I think about a state where each of these connects naturally,
and each other's strengths are exerted without strain.
I design a flow where value circulates.

Looking back,
I think I have been doing that work all along.

So even if my title changes,
what I do does not change at all.

Even now, and surely in the future as well.

だから肩書きは変わっても、
やっていることは、何も変わらない。

いまも、きっとこれからも。