Gehirn Co., Ltd. has adopted our "Matisse EB" for the content for supporter members in the "Special Agency NERV Disaster Prevention App," and Gehirn has created Packaging design for Horika Foods Co., Ltd.'s "Disaster Prevention Rations Designated by the Special Agency NERV," using our "Matisse EB," "UDKakugo_Large DB," "Universal Design Kakugo Condensed 80 M," and "UD Kakugo R."
This time, we conducted a joint online interview with Gehirn Co., Ltd. CEO Ishimori, Executive Director Nukatani, Sakuragi from the Technology Development Department Production Division, who is in charge of all the company's creative work, including the app and Packaging design for disaster prevention rations, and Iguchi from the Sales Department of HORIKA FOODS Co., Ltd., who was involved in planning the disaster prevention rations, to hear about the background to the development.
Proper use of typefaces in the real world and the anime world
--First of all, I would like to ask Mr. Gehirn. Please tell us about the development process of the "Special Agency NERV Disaster Prevention App", which is highly supported as a disaster prevention app.
Ishimori:
There was an opinion within the company that it would be nice if the information on the Twitter account @UN_NERV, which had been in operation since the Great East Japan Earthquake of 3.11, could be further subdivided and optimized, but we are a disaster prevention app. Other companies have already provided various apps and services.
There was also a conflict as to whether there was a reason to enter the market now, but when I was invited to the year-end party of Eva officials at the end of 2018, when I talked about application development, I said, "You can use the name of NERV." I got permission. I thought that I couldn't put out half-finished products because I carried the name of NERV on my back, so I started full-scale development.
--What made you decide to introduce Matisse EB for the new content for supporter members?
Ishimori: We operate our Twitter account in reference to the organization called "NERV," a special agency that appears in the anime series "Evangelion," so we have used the technique of directly reflecting the worldview of Evangelion in our content many times before.
However, with the "NERV Special Agency Disaster Prevention App," we refrained from using "Matisse EB" because if we had faithfully reproduced the worldview of Evangelion, the disaster prevention information would have been difficult to read.
On the other hand, many of our Supporter Members are Evangelion fans and use the app, so we wanted to show our gratitude to our users on the Supporters Club credit board, and so we decided to use the Matisse EB logo with great anticipation.
--Thank you. I was overwhelmed by how the world of Evangelion was expressed! I'm very happy that you made full use of "Matisse EB". What was the reaction of members and within your company?
Ishimori: It seems like all the users had a lot of fun searching for their own names. There were comments like, "There's my name!" and "I can't seem to find it," and we even saw users searching for each other.
Mr. Hatsutani: Even before making it in-house, he said, "This will definitely be cool." When it was completed, it was as cool as I expected, and it was more artistic than I had imagined. Also, I think it was cool because many of you registered as members of the Supporters Club. At first, I was worried about what to do if we were about 10 people (laughs), but now more than 2,400 people have become supporter members, and we are able to put it out in that way.
Ishimori: I think the so-called fan club format, where people collect donations to support a project, is often used in the music industry. However, I don't think it's common to post the names of those who support a project. Moreover, the fact that the names are randomly arranged in the "Matisse EB" font, and that it has an artistic feel to it, is due to the background of Evangelion and the power of the font.
Balancing food safety and design
--Next, I would like to ask Mr. Iguchi of Holika Foods. "Disaster prevention food designated by the special agency NERV" was born with the concept of "distributed meals distributed by the special agency NERV to the citizens of Tokyo-3." Why did this collaboration come about?
Mr. Iguchi: When we exhibited at the disaster prevention forum held in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, Mr. Ishimori and I got together. At that time, Mr. Ishimori was looking for a partner who could collaborate on disaster food. Originally, he was also a user of Rescue Foods, and he trusted the quality, so the project went on steadily.
--Did you have any instructions or requests such as a Packaging
Mr. Iguchi: We did not have any particular instructions or requests, and we left it to us. However, from the time when the design was completed, I checked it in terms of quality control, such as giving advice on notations that must be legally complied with.
Packaging "Disaster Prevention Food" has a simple design centered on fonts, but it conveys the world view of Evangelion. Please tell us about the background and issues that Gehirn designed with a focus on typefaces when designing the Packaging
Mr. Sakuragi: I think that most food Packaging use photographs such as cooking examples. Rescue Foods sold by Mr. Holika Foods is also in a Packaging with a picture of the finished product, so there was a phase where I thought it might be necessary to follow suit. However, since the concept of this time was "distributed meals distributed by the special agency NERV to the citizens of Tokyo-3", I came to think that it is like the carry-on meals that the Self-Defense Forces always have in the real world. I did.
Mr. Sakuragi: At the same time, consideration for universal design was an absolute requirement. Due to the nature of food and stockpiles in case of emergency, it was necessary to consider "readability" for various people, both Japanese and foreigners. We proceeded with the design production while devising ways to make it possible for anyone to understand "what kind of meal", such as how to use rescue foods, English notation such as allergy indication, color barrier-free and identification method by serial number of numbers, and gradually typeface It became a composition centered on.
--Please tell us the background behind your decision to use "Matisse EB" and "Universal Design Font" on Packaging of your disaster prevention rations.
Sakuragi: As for "Matisse EB," it is no exaggeration to say that it is the font synonymous with the "Evangelion" anime series, so it was something that we absolutely could not leave out, and it was a natural choice to place it in.
However, using it for the entire product would have too much impact. As the information contained therein is related to people's lives and health, such as allergy information, we decided to prioritize visibility, and therefore used the "Universal Design Kakugo font."
Ishimori-san: When we were considering a font that was easy for everyone to read (universal design), Universal Design fonts naturally came up as a candidate. There are many different types of Universal Design fonts, but I like "NewRodin". I thought of "Universal Design Kaku Gothic", which follows the atmosphere of "NewRodin".
"NewRodin" is widely used in TV subtitles, train station signage, Advertisement, etc. and is well-known, and its highly public nature gives it an "administrative" image. In other words, this hard-line image that we have in our minds is a perfect fit for the setting of the disaster prevention rations we created this time, "food rations distributed by the special agency NERV to the citizens of Neo Tokyo-3," and that was what prompted us to consider using it.
So that you can help even in the unlikely event of a disaster
--How was the reputation inside and outside the company regarding the actual product design?
Mr. Sakuragi: I was happy to receive a compliment from Mr. Horika Foods. I am very grateful to have been endorsed by a food professional, and at the same time, I am confident.
Even looking at the reaction on Twitter, I am relieved that it seems to have been received in a generally favorable manner. Many people have purchased a surprisingly expensive 5-meal pack (N carton), but as an Eva fan, I cannot help but sympathize with it.
Mr. Iguchi: When I hear the word Evangelion, I think it's easy for characters to come out in front of me, but I think this product has a design that doesn't feel strange even if it comes out during the work. In fact, the people who picked it up also said, "It's amazing to embody Eva's full-fledged world view," and "If you get this in the event of a disaster, it will help." ..
I and the company think that the design was wonderful, and I'm happy to say that it was very well received, as it was decided to sell it at a movie theater, which I had never dealt with before. We are here.
Mr. Hatsutani: When I brought this product to the customer in a business negotiation, even those who did not know Evangelion said that it was very good.
After all, I'm very happy that the product is evaluated for its easy-to-read characters and cool design without putting a character on it.
I want to aim for public broadcasting on the Internet
--Finally, please tell us about the "future forecast" of Mr. Gehirn and Mr. Holika Foods.
Mr. Ishimori: Regarding the disaster prevention business, it is all about "working to further strengthen the dissemination of disaster prevention information." At the same time, we must not forget to "express information in an easy-to-understand manner." As long as we borrow the name of the special agency NERV, we will continue to cherish the world view of the anime "Evangelion" series and strive to pursue further usability. However, I sometimes design with inspiration from other anime, and from a usability point of view, I sometimes express it a little differently from Eva's world view.
The special agency NERV is set as a "private organization under the direct control of the United Nations", but when we distribute disaster prevention information, we are aware of NHK, which is a public broadcaster. Since it is also an institution that studies how to create information that is kind to various people, we especially refer to barrier-free thinking, system construction, and public thinking. I would like to continue distributing disaster prevention information with the feeling of "aiming for NHK on the Internet."
Mr. Iguchi: We will aim for continuous business development, expansion, and only one in the disaster food field and the treatment / long-term care food field, which are the pillars of our business. Furthermore, we will actively work on overseas business in the future. We will continue to think more seriously about disaster foods, medical treatment / nursing foods, etc. that are easy to see and handle at any site, and continue to make products that are really easy to use and that can be said to be good products. I will continue.
Also, it is really good that it is not used, but in the event of an emergency, we would like to establish a system that allows our products to reach everyone as a disaster food.
As we proceeded with the interview, we asked you about your encounter with fonts.
Mr. Iguchi of Holika Foods seemed to have learned the importance of easy-to-understand characters such as Universal Design fonts in this collaboration of disaster prevention food.
Universal Design Categories that will continue to attract more attention. As a font maker, we would like to focus on it.
For Gehirn, Mr. Ishimori touched a word processor when he was in kindergarten, operated a computer in the third grade of elementary school, published a "class newspaper" when he was in junior high school, and chose a font according to the theme. It seems that it was. Mr. Hatsutani made a homepage as a junior high school student, and Mr. Sakuragi did calligraphy from an early age, and I could feel the depth of his knowledge of letters.
Also, Mr. Ishimori is thinking about activities that will pass on art to the next generation.
We hope that you will find it useful as a font maker in your future activities.
