A Vision-Driven Branding Company Born from Asking “Why”

To start off, could you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I’m the CEO and Creative Director of RecorC, a company that helps businesses with branding and marketing. Our strength lies in combining strategic creativity that builds added value for brands with highly focused tactical direction.

Before starting RecorC, I worked across a range of industries, from branding and design to retail and manufacturing. All of those experiences eventually led me to what I’m doing today. I really love my work, and I honestly feel like I’ve found my calling. Looking back, I can see how everything I’ve experienced throughout my career has come together and shaped the work I do now.

Could you tell us what makes RecorC unique?

One of the things that sets RecorC apart is that our team is made up entirely of directors. We’ve intentionally structured the company this way because we want to work closely with business owners and support them on a deeper level.

A lot of companies talk about “working alongside” their clients, but for us, that means working alongside them specifically in the area of brand management. There are many ways to support a business, whether through design, advertising, consulting on specific challenges, or other forms of support. Our role is to start with the business owner’s vision, engage deeply with both the essence of the brand and the challenges the business is facing, and help move the brand and the business forward over the long term.

Of course, we also plan and manage advertising and provide creative work. But because we place such importance on working closely with business owners toward their vision, we intentionally don’t have dedicated in-house creatives or engineers. When you have an in-house production team, the entire project can easily become driven by production schedules. Even if a business owner feels they need to pause and rethink something, internal circumstances can make it difficult to do so at the right moment.

To avoid that, our in-house team is made up entirely of directors who each have their own area of expertise while also being able to work across disciplines. Just as the “-ing” in “branding” suggests, building a brand isn’t something you do once and then consider finished. It’s an ongoing process of nurturing and developing it over time. That’s why we want to stay closely involved for the long term and continue supporting our clients as they build and grow their brands.

So rather than handling production in-house, RecorC is essentially a team of directors who work alongside business owners as partners. Would that be an accurate way to describe it?

Yes, exactly. I’m the Creative Director, and our other co-CEO is the Marketing Director.

He specializes in content marketing, including advertising, as well as developing KPIs and KGIs to measure performance. By combining our expertise in creative direction and marketing, we aim to take a more comprehensive approach to brand management.

When it comes to production, we work with highly skilled independent creatives. They’re people I genuinely want to work with and trust to bring the right expertise to each project.

What qualities do you look for in creatives, and what makes you want to work with someone?

I’d like to work with people who are able to recognize the strengths in others and in the things around them. Rather than focusing on other people’s weaknesses to feel superior, I believe that when a team is made up of people who can identify each other’s strengths and think about how to make the most of them, everyone is naturally able to reach their full potential.

Another quality I value is the ability to keep asking new questions rather than being satisfied with simply thinking, “I understand.” There is no single right answer in branding, marketing, or creative work, and even what we consider to be the right answer is constantly changing. In that kind of environment, I want to work with people who remain curious and never stop exploring.

I see. On the other hand, if you had to describe the kind of person you find difficult to work with, who would that be?

It would be the opposite of what I just described. I find it difficult to work with people who simply do what they’re told, because I don’t assume that what I tell them is always right. If I share a concept and someone simply accepts it and thinks, “Okay, I just need to turn this into exactly what he described,” I don’t think that leads to a good output.

To create an output with real depth, it’s important to ask questions like, “Why did you come to this idea?” or “Is this really the right direction?” and keep the conversation going. That’s why I find it difficult to work with people who don’t ask questions or challenge ideas, and simply execute what they’ve been told.

Was there a particular experience that led you to think this way?

I started thinking this way after I began my career. I realized how difficult it can be to clearly communicate the value of who you are, or the value of a product you genuinely believe in.

I struggled with both job hunting and changing jobs, and those experiences made me start thinking more deeply about what “value” really means. That process has shaped the way I think about brands and communication today.

So those struggles and challenges also played a part in your decision to start the company.

Yes. For me, the motivation to start something new often comes from a sense of frustration. Maybe you could call it a rebellious spirit. Sometimes, conversations with people leave me feeling frustrated or like something just doesn’t sit right with me. When that happens, I try to think, “Thank you for giving me that rebellious spirit,” and embrace the feeling rather than reject it. That emotion often becomes the motivation to take on a new challenge or take action. Looking back, I think many of the things I’ve done started from that kind of frustration.

What kind of impression do clients tend to have of RecorC?

We’ve only been in business for about two years, so we haven’t had many opportunities to hear how clients see us yet. One thing I do hear quite often is that clients find it reassuring to have us by their side and are glad to have our support.

When it comes to attracting customers and increasing brand value, there’s very little we can’t help our clients with. We want to be a partner they know they can rely on.

In fact, I’m very grateful to say that since we started the company, not a single client has ended their contract with us. I think that level of client retention shows that our clients see us as a partner they can truly count on.

What do you think has helped you build that level of trust with your clients?

I think it comes back to what I mentioned earlier about why we started the company. It really comes down to our approach of working alongside our clients.

We don’t simply wait for a client to tell us what they want and then follow their instructions. We always try to think one step ahead.

When you’re running a business, it’s easy to get caught up in what’s right in front of you and lose sight of what needs to come next. That’s why we create roadmaps for the next one to three years and think ahead about what steps to take as the business evolves.

In that sense, you could think of us as a pacemaker in a marathon. Our clients have a goal they want to reach, and we work alongside them with the same level of commitment, figuring out how to get there together. That’s the approach we take.

Could you share a particularly memorable experience from your work, or a moment that made you feel that what you do is truly worthwhile?

I care deeply about the team I work with. I’ve never felt that I’ve accomplished anything entirely on my own, and I’m very aware of my own weaknesses. That’s why there’s something incredibly rewarding about bringing together everyone’s different forms of creativity and achieving a shared goal as a team. I usually place a lot of importance on putting things into words, but the joy I feel in those moments is almost impossible to describe.

Over the past year, we’ve had two client events reach full capacity. Being able to celebrate results like that together as a team is incredibly rewarding.

We also work with a luxury jewelry brand whose pieces are priced at over one million yen. They had always felt that because their brand was so niche, advertising wouldn’t necessarily bring in new customers. We took the time to really explore what made the brand valuable and translated that into their advertising. As a result, many new customers came to their exhibition, and some went on to make purchases.

Seeing the look on our clients’ faces when they realize that all their hard work has paid off, and seeing customers discover the value of a brand for the first time, are the moments that make me truly glad I’ve continued doing this work.

RecorC’s Approach to Branding

How do you identify the challenges your clients are facing through your conversations with them?

Before we start working alongside a client, we first make sure their goals and vision are clear. Some clients may be hesitant to dig that deep, but it’s a step we always take.

Once we have a clear picture of where they want to go, we can see the gap between their ideal and where they are now. We identify that gap as the challenge, look at the resources available to address it, and then decide what to prioritize.

So you work closely with your clients toward their goals, even when that means having difficult or uncomfortable conversations along the way. In your own life, beyond running a company, have you always valued self-reflection and understanding yourself?

Rather than self-analysis, I’d say I’ve spent a lot of time asking myself questions.

I’m the kind of person who finds it hard to keep doing something when there’s no clear purpose behind it. When I was an employee, one of my managers even told me that I didn’t fit in. Without a clear vision or goal, I found it difficult to stay motivated or find the work meaningful. If I couldn’t answer questions like, “Why am I doing this?” or “Why am I working overtime for this?”, my performance would drop significantly.

That’s why I came to believe that instead of having someone else set goals for me, it’s important to have a clear sense of where I want to go. I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on myself and defining that direction for myself.

That mindset also shapes the way we work with our clients. Before we start working together, we make sure we share a clear vision and goal for where we want to go.

Did that kind of self-reflection also play a role in shaping RecorC into what it is today?

Yes, I think that way of thinking is at the core of what we do.

One of the reasons RecorC took its current form was something I noticed in the market. I felt there were very few companies truly focused on brand management and marketing at a deeper level. Many companies talk about branding, but what they actually provide is mainly design or advertising.

What we wanted to do was dig deeper into why people continue to choose a particular brand, use that as the foundation for everything we do, and then take responsibility for planning and managing how that value is maintained and developed over time. I felt there were very few companies taking that approach from start to finish.

The other reason is simply who we are. We genuinely enjoy sharing a vision and goals with our clients and working toward them together. That desire ultimately shaped RecorC into the company it is today.

Have you valued understanding what lies behind people’s words since you started the company?

Yes, absolutely. It’s something we’ve valued from the very beginning.I think this applies not only to people’s needs and desires, but also to value itself. I believe that true added value often lies in what isn’t immediately visible.

For example, “I’m hungry” is an obvious, expressed need. But unless you understand the deeper needs behind it, you can’t create genuine satisfaction or move someone emotionally. That’s why we try to look beyond what people say on the surface and understand the thoughts and emotions behind their words, so that we can create something that truly resonates with them. That’s something we’ve cared deeply about since the very beginning.

I imagine there are times when what a client sees as their strength differs from what you see as the true value of their brand. How do you work through those differences together?

When it comes to their own company, clients can naturally have blind spots. That’s why we always try to look at things from the customer’s perspective. We believe that how you perceive value can change significantly depending on where you’re looking from.

When there’s a clear gap in how we see things, it’s often because we’re looking at them from different perspectives. So we work through that together by asking questions like, “How would the target audience see this?” and gradually align our understanding.

The same applies to employer branding, where we put ourselves in the shoes of potential applicants. We’re constantly aligning perspectives so that we can see things from the same point of view as the people we’re trying to reach.

At some companies, there can be a gap between the company’s philosophy and the values or personality of its founder. How closely do you feel your own values and personality align with RecorC?

I’d say they overlap quite a lot. At the same time, I don’t necessarily think that’s always a good thing. For example, if I were to become ill and the company depended entirely on me, it wouldn’t be sustainable in the long run. That’s why, from the beginning, I’ve been conscious of building a company that doesn’t rely solely on me.

I also have a co-CEO, so we’re constantly aligning our perspectives and thinking about how to build a company that can last. Going forward, one of our challenges is to develop a shared personality as a team. Rather than simply reflecting my personality, I want RecorC to have its own identity, shaped by the combination of the people behind it.

How do you plan to build a stronger team identity while making sure the company doesn’t become too dependent on any one individual?

I think the people who make up the team are incredibly important in shaping a shared identity. That’s why, as we continue to grow, I want to keep asking ourselves who we genuinely want to work with and build the team around those relationships.

Going forward, we also want to create our own brands, in addition to supporting our clients. When we do, I want to start with the people involved and think about how each person’s unique strengths can contribute to the brand and become part of its value. More than skills or job titles, I want to bring in people who have a genuine passion for making something happen.

Our team has now grown to four people, including myself and my co-CEO. Even before founding the company, the two of us had strong ideas about what we wanted to achieve, and we spent a lot of time discussing where our visions aligned and where they intersected. As new people join the team, I want to continue placing the same importance on having those conversations with them.

What does a “good brand” look like to you?

There are many ways to define a good brand, but the first thing I would point to is clarity. Great brands are very good at managing expectations. Even before you experience them, you already have a sense of the kind of value they will offer.

At the heart of that is consistency. I believe brands that maintain a strong sense of consistency are ultimately the strongest.

I also got a strong sense of that clarity from RecorC’s website, especially through elements like the key colors and the cork motif.

To add to that, the name “RecorC” itself may seem a little unclear at first. You might not immediately know how to pronounce it. That ambiguity is intentional, as it sparks questions like, “Where does the name come from?” or “Why is cork the motif?” Those questions create an opportunity for us to explain the deeper meaning behind the name.

For a carefully crafted wine to deepen with time and eventually become a memorable glass in someone’s life, the cork plays an essential role. It quietly supports that transformation and helps preserve and develop the wine’s value. We believe the same is true of brands. We want to be like a cork, helping nurture and preserve the reasons a brand continues to be chosen, so that its value can be carried into the world and passed on to the next generation. As we help our clients grow their value, we also continue to change and evolve ourselves. That idea of continuous change, or “Re,” is at the heart of RecorC.

What matters is that even when something is intentionally designed to feel unclear at first, there needs to be a reason behind it. It may create a question in the moment, but that question should ultimately lead to a clearer understanding of the brand’s values and philosophy.

I believe a brand’s unique character is already there within its mission, vision, and values, and the important thing is to keep questioning and exploring what that character is. It’s not something absolute either. It becomes clearer through relationships with others and through different perspectives. Since it also changes with the times, we try to stay open to what feels true and relevant at each moment.

When building a brand, what are the things you believe you should never compromise on?

There are so many that it’s hard to choose. If I had to pick three, the first would be creating a shared understanding and a common language within the team. The second would be digging deep into insights, and the third would be having a clear concept.

I’ve found that when any of these three are missing, things often don’t work out as well. On the other hand, if you keep working on all three consistently, day by day, I believe they can lead to meaningful results.

Of course, success isn’t always something you can replicate, and luck also plays a part. Even so, I believe staying committed to these three things increases your chances of achieving strong results.

What would you like to take on next as a company?

We want to launch a brand of our own. This isn’t something we see as a distant goal. It’s something we hope to make happen in the near future.

I think there are a few steps we need to take to get there. There are both tangible and intangible products, but ultimately, we want to create something tangible. As I mentioned earlier, though, I believe what we create depends on who we choose to work with. That’s why I try not to decide on a specific direction too early, like saying, “We want to create a cosmetics brand.”

What we ultimately want to create is a brand that is deeply rooted in a particular place and comes to represent that community. That’s the kind of brand we hope to build.

This challenge isn’t separate from the work we currently do with our clients. By building and growing a brand ourselves, we’ll gain perspectives that can only come from being on that side of the process. There are also lessons you can only learn by taking risks yourself. I believe those experiences will bring greater depth to the work and ideas we offer our clients.

Building our own brand will also help us make the work we do with our clients more meaningful and substantial. We want these two sides of the business to grow together and strengthen each other.

On your website, you describe the role of creative direction. How do you see the difference between a creative director and a designer?

At its core, a creative director’s role is to define who you’re communicating with and what you want to communicate.

To start, I don’t see creative directors and designers as being above or below one another. They simply have different roles and work as equals.

A creative director’s role is to define the “Who” and the “What.” When designing communication, we often think in terms of Who, What, and How. The creative director clarifies the Who and What, then provides direction on how those ideas should take shape as the How. The Who and What are particularly important because if either is off, everything that follows, from the creative expression to the execution, can also go off track.

A designer, on the other hand, takes that What or concept and brings it to life, constantly asking how it can be communicated most effectively, down to the smallest details.

In other words, the creative director shapes the strategy and concept, while the designer translates them into the form that communicates them most effectively. I see that as the key difference between the two.

What do you think is most important when creative directors and designers work together?

Building trust and developing a shared language are essential. It’s also important to minimize as much unspoken understanding as possible. If we think of knowledge as either explicit or tacit, good teamwork comes from reducing communication that relies on people simply “getting it” without things being clearly expressed.

At the same time, one thing I value as a creative director is not being too prescriptive about what the final output should look like. I make sure there is a clear understanding of what we want to communicate, how we want people to feel, and what action we want them to take. However, I intentionally avoid giving specific examples of how those ideas should take shape.

The reason is that I want designers to have as much room as possible to use their creativity. Providing specific examples can end up taking part of their role away from them. Designers sometimes ask for reference websites, but once a reference is shared, it can easily influence the direction of the work.

A designer’s role isn’t to recreate a reference. It’s to create something new based on the brand’s tone and manner and its overall world. That’s why I avoid giving specific examples that might limit their thinking. I want designers to be able to bring their own strengths to the work without taking away the joy of creating something themselves.

What qualities and values do you look for in people who join the RecorC team?

There are many, but what matters most to me is not being driven solely by short-term results. Rather than focusing only on immediate numbers or quick wins, I want people on our team to always keep the future in mind and genuinely want to help our clients succeed over the long term.

In our industry, for example, there are plenty of short-term tactics that can boost sales, such as lowering prices. However, those decisions aren’t necessarily good for the brand in the long run. Even making claims like “100% effective,” which could violate pharmaceutical advertising regulations in Japan, might deliver results in the short term, but it can ultimately damage the value of the brand and the trust people place in it.

That’s why I want to work with people who look beyond the next sale and think about building brands that can endure for generations. It’s important to have people who are future-focused and genuinely want to support our clients with that long-term perspective in mind.

What kind of mindset or perspective do you think people can develop at RecorC?

The way we think about branding and marketing can be applied not only to work, but to life as well. Understanding people’s needs, knowing how to communicate your own strengths, and thinking about how to avoid mismatches and build mutually fulfilling relationships are all ideas that can apply to friendships and romantic relationships too. I think RecorC is a great environment for learning how to think strategically about your own life and pursue what you truly want.

AI is extremely good at the “how,” but the value that only humans can create lies in attention to detail and having a unique perspective. As the saying goes, “God is in the details.” The determination to keep refining something until the very end, as well as the ability to make unexpected creative leaps that AI cannot replicate, are things that come from being human.

At RecorC, we work closely with business owners at the early stages of brand building, developing brand value with a view toward the next ten years. I think it’s an environment where you can learn to look beyond short-term goals, develop the ability to support brands from a long-term perspective, and strengthen the kind of creative thinking that is uniquely human.

Thank you. To wrap things up, what does work mean to you?

That’s the ultimate question.

To me, work is about translating your values and creativity into something that can reach society and create joy for others.

When I think about why I continue to work in brand marketing and creative direction, it ultimately comes back to that. It’s about translating the values and passion that our clients have into words and visuals that people can connect with, and seeing that lead to someone’s happiness. That’s where I find meaning in my work.

That’s why, rather than focusing on how cool something looks on the surface, I think it’s important to keep asking questions like, “Why does this brand exist?”, “Who are the people this brand is for?”, and “Are we communicating its true value in the right way?” You can’t translate something properly without first understanding it deeply.

Thank you so much for your time today. It was fascinating to hear about your perspective and how you’ve come to understand yourself more deeply by working through your own insecurities and struggles. To close, is there anything you’d like to say to those who are thinking about applying to RecorC?

RecorC’s mission is to “build support and empower people to take on new challenges.” It’s not something we want to simply put into words as a company philosophy. The two of us are gradually building an environment where that idea can actually be felt in the way we work every day.

I’ve personally had experiences where people held me back when I was trying to take on something new. That’s why I want to create a workplace where no one discourages someone else from taking on a challenge. I also want that mindset to extend beyond our company, whether in Nagano or in the communities we’re part of. I want to help create more places where people don’t have to hold back when they think, “I want to give this a try.”

Taking on a challenge becomes much easier when you have people supporting you. That’s why I want to see more people taking on challenges and more people cheering them on. I hope people will see RecorC as a place where both can happen naturally.

It’s completely fine if you don’t know what your strengths are yet. As long as you have even a small sense of the person you want to become, I believe we can provide an environment that helps you move closer to that ideal.