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HIDEKI YAMAMOTO
YAMAMOTO MOSS MACKENZIE
Hideki Yamamoto, one of the principals in the newly merged design firm Yamamoto Moss Mackenzie, has spent the last 27 years as a multi-disciplinary designer, building an international client roster. He has led the design for multinational corporate and brand identities, environmental design for General Mills, exhibition design and signage for the Kingdom Center in Saudi Arabia, private island design for Royal Caribbean International and packaging for Le Conte in China. But when asked, Yamamoto's real passion is for his creative team, who, he says, can "design anything."
Was graphic design your first career path?
My arrival in the U.S. was a bit of a fluke. I came here because of an American teacher in Tokyo who was coaching me in English. He said I needed to go to the Midwest for college, because if I were to go to schools on either coast, I would become part of a Japanese community and I wouldn't learn English. He was from Minneapolis, so I chose the Minneapolis College of Art and Design in Minnesota. I knew I had a gift for design, but my language skills were nil. It was a monumental change and challenge. Because my English was so poor, I couldn't understand what the teachers were saying, and I had no idea what the assignments were. So, I waited until the preliminary review, saw what everyone else did, and then I went back to my room and did my design. I learned to design really fast. And I still wait until the last minute to start.
What talents do you wish you possessed?
I would love to play the piano.
Where do you turn for inspiration?
My partner over all the years, Miranda Moss, always has a new way to look at things. All the young designers who sit around me are also very inspiring. They are quick to tell me their ideas.
What is your worst habit?
I am a TV news junkie. My wife says she will bury me with my remotes.
Should graphic design be an instrument for positive social change?
Yes, I strongly believe in the power of visual communication and the responsibility that we, as designers, have in making things better for people and institutions that are helping society. In order to make our contribution significant and rewarding for our staff to work on, we created a pro bono program where we selected a community building partner and gave $100,000 worth of design to non-profits that either help women and children, the environment or the arts in Minnesota. With a full service program for a year, the non-profit gets their design and marketing done, and we learn about the art of giving. With over one million dollars worth of effort, we can now see our design on Second Harvest food bank semis, in the success of the Minnesota Arboreatum, additional contributions to the Victims of Torture and Domestic Abuse project, as well as the promotion of the arts for the Dale Warland Singers, McPhail Center for Music, the Rochester Art Center, Eastside Neighborhood Development and the exciting new Como Zoo and Conservatory.
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