Anders Holm, a corporate branding consultant

1. The first steps into the Japanese market

I was the CEO of a design agency called Bold Scandinavia, which was one of Scandinavia’s biggest graphic design and brand identity agencies. While I was there, my partner and I became really interested in Japan for both aesthetic and cultural reasons. We wanted to find an excuse to go there, get inspired, and learn more about Japanese culture and aesthetics.

From Denmark, we managed to reach out to quite a few agencies and eventually got the chance to visit them. On our first trip to Japan, we made a couple of really good connections with people who were interested in introducing us to their clients in Tokyo. It was clear that there was mutual interest, but that interest needed time to grow.

After several meetings — sometimes over beer and sake — our conversations started to change. They became more open and moved beyond superficial topics into deeper conversations about design and the possibility of working together. At one point, one of our contacts invited us to join an event, and we just jumped into it. It turned into a two-day workshop with a number of his clients, where he hosted and we presented our work and ran workshop sessions together with them.

This only happened after four or five meetings, both formal and informal. So my main takeaway — which is probably not very surprising — was that it all only really started to happen after we had gotten to know each other and built trust.

2. Comparing Danish and Japanese design

1. Shared ground

At first, I felt that Japanese design had, especially in the post-war period, split into two broad directions: a more classical design tradition and a more pop-oriented style. When it comes to the classical side, there are a couple of key points where Denmark and Japan seem to align. The first is the appreciation of simplicity. There is also a shared emphasis on functionality. In Danish design, people often say that well-designed products always have a clear function behind them. Very often, function outweighs aesthetics, and that in itself becomes a path to simplicity. In that sense, I think there is a strong correlation between Japanese and Danish aesthetics.

At a deeper level, there is also a shared appreciation of craft, which is probably more cultural in nature. In Japanese culture, things are allowed to take time so that they can be done properly. We could see this even in the way presentations were developed: there was a willingness to revisit and refine things again and again, and the process of perfecting them seemed almost never-ending. In some areas of Danish design, I think there are clear similarities. So simplicity, functionality, and craft were the three areas where, across all the conversations I had, it was easiest to find common ground.

2. What stood out

What I found particularly unique was how future-oriented Japanese designers and companies were. I had expected many of them to be very traditional and old-fashioned, but in reality, the opposite was true. After spending some time talking with them, they would almost always ask, “So what do you think the future of design is?” In Europe, I think a question like that is often asked to test whether the person on the other side is intelligent or thoughtful. In Japan, however, people seemed to be genuinely interested. They were also very reflective in the way they responded to our opinions. When we gave a proper answer, they treated that input with real respect.

This impression was shaped in part by the fact that we were connecting mainly with a community of younger creators. Many of them were trying to find a way beyond the dominant players in the industry, such as Dentsu. That was one reason they were interested in our work — they were looking for inspiration and for ways to break out of the situation they were in.

Of course, there were also more traditional companies, where the atmosphere was very different — for example, boardrooms with fifty people, everyone wearing the same perfectly tailored suit, and nobody saying anything. My point is that younger generations in Japan seemed much more curious about the future and about how they themselves might develop or position themselves within it. In that sense, I think they were also looking outward, including to Denmark, as a possible point of reference.

3. The Japanese interest in Danish design

1. A bolder direction

First of all, they liked Nordic design. We had been exploring how a simple brand could still make an impact in a world where media and everything around us were becoming increasingly noisy. While Japanese and Danish design share the same attention to detail, I felt that Danish design had evolved in a slightly bolder direction.

2. The culture behind the design

They were also very curious about ways of working. So it was not only the output itself that interested them, but also how we built a creative culture — for example, through work-life balance. I also met CEOs who were looking for advice on how to create a more creative culture within a Japanese agency.

4. How Japanese consumers read design

We worked with a major office supply company in Japan whose design philosophy was inspired by Scandinavian design. For them, we designed packaging for products such as toilet paper and kitchen bags, among many others, and they allowed us to work in a distinctly Scandinavian style. Of course, some functional adjustments were still necessary, for example, in sizing and colouring.

What I found interesting was that Japanese consumers seemed able to navigate design at quite a high level. We talked about whether this might be because there is already so much going on visually in everyday life that people become very good at decoding and interpreting information — reading signage, for instance, or knowing exactly where to look on packaging for instructions. In that sense, I felt there were clearer conventions in Japan than in Europe or Denmark, at least in my experience.

5. Design challenges in the Japanese market

1. Different design expectations

There were a few occasions when we were asked to make something more kawaii — in other words, to add a sense of cuteness. It took us several rounds before we really began to understand what that meant, because it is simply not part of the skill set of most Danish designers. They can recognise it and understand it as a concept, but actually creating it is much more difficult. That was one of the challenges we faced on the design side. Fortunately, we had someone on the team who had been born and raised in Japan, and they were able to help us navigate the process and give it direction.

2. When brand becomes existential

Another difficulty was the way Japanese people seemed to think about their work or brand in a much more existential way. I felt there was a significant gap between Japan and Europe in how work itself is understood.

In Europe, when you work with a brand, it tends to feel more external. We can say: this is the mission, this is the storyline, and these are the values that support it. But in the end, it is still just work, and we are usually able to place some distance between ourselves, our sense of worth, and our lives. That did not feel like the case in Japan.

In one international rebranding project with a Japanese client, they really interrogated the values we proposed. They started asking questions that felt almost existential — something like, “How do I live my life according to these values?” I think this probably relates to the fact that people in Japan spend so much of their time at work, and that work becomes such a central and essential part of life.

It was not that what we came up with was not good. Rather, we had to do far more work than expected to anchor it and make it feel like it genuinely belonged to them. At one point, we even had to say, “I don’t think we can advise you at this level. We don’t have the cultural insight or the depth needed to shape an identity at a truly Japanese level.”

I think we left on good terms, and we still delivered a strong piece of branding work. But it was an important lesson for me: not to assume that expectations around a word like “culture” in Denmark or Europe would be the same in Japan. At first glance, the meanings may seem aligned, but once you start unpacking them and digging deeper, the differences can become very significant.

6. What it takes to succeed in the Japanese market

1. Cultural appreciation

Cultural appreciation is probably the key thing. Even though it may sound a little obvious or expected, I really think it is fundamental. If you want to have anything to do with Japan — unless your company is already established there and someone else is handling the cultural side — then cultural appreciation is essential. Japan is so different, especially at deeper levels, that it is almost impossible to fully explain.

You cannot go on holiday in Japan and think you understand it. I certainly did not understand it at all at first, and I still do not think I fully do. But that, to me, is exactly the point: if you do not appreciate that complexity, and if you are not willing to go along for the ride, then there are much easier paths to take.

2. Think relationally, not transactionally

For me, getting from good conversations to actually landing a project involved a lot of trial and error. In Denmark, proposals tend to be phrased very directly: “This is what it is.” In Japan, however, we had to spend much more time discussing nuances with our partners, and a great deal more work went into shaping the proposal in the right way.

One reason for this, I think, is that some Japanese people may not openly say when they do not understand what you are saying. So you have to remain polite and respectful, but also a little persistent. That might mean returning to a point later, or following up by email so that both sides have time to reflect.

I think many Danish or European companies lose patience at that stage. They are simply not used to staying in the same conversation again and again. To some extent, many of them come with a more transactional mindset, whereas the Japanese side often approaches things more relationally.

When you evaluate everything transactionally, you start thinking: “I can make €10,000 from this project, but I’ve already had eight calls explaining it. This is not a good investment.” Western business culture often encourages exactly that kind of speed and efficiency. But it becomes difficult when it meets someone with a more patient and relational way of working.

In that context, it can take only one wrong interaction for the other side to feel, “Wait a minute, this is only a transaction for you.” What I found especially interesting was that, if you want to succeed, you really have to challenge yourself to think relationally and set aside short-term goals.

3. Experience Japan firsthand

I think the first step in understanding Japanese culture and people is that you have to go there. You actually have to go and try. You need to be in the metro stations and go to all the crazy places, because otherwise, you are only dipping your toes in the water. And if you do not even do that, then you should probably stop thinking about it.

Of course, we also had research carried out with some of our Japanese partners, so we could begin to understand the market. But we also spent time in Japanese supermarkets, simply observing people. For one project, I literally had to stand in front of shelves of toilet paper, because otherwise, how could I possibly advise someone on how to design it?

So you have to take off your theoretical gloves and really go out and try to understand people. You need to engage with them and ask questions with respect and patience. Otherwise, you cannot understand a culture if you do not talk to people.

4. Finding ambassadors

I would also say that you have to find ambassadors. You need to find friends and like-minded people, because from the outside, it is very difficult to really penetrate Japanese networks.

The only reason we were able to gain traction relatively quickly was that we started building connections at a social and casual level. We ended up in several conferences and meetings where I did not even fully know what we were walking into. But simply by being there and being genuinely interested, we were introduced through our design and our work, and suddenly opportunities for projects began to emerge. People would refer us and say, “These are good people. Their work is worth learning from. You can take inspiration from it.”

If I am being honest, there is sometimes a slightly Danish assumption that we do amazing work, and that when we take it out into the world, anyone will immediately recognise that it is amazing. But there is also a very big world out there doing amazing work. That is why this becomes so important: if you do not have somebody who can introduce you and vouch for you, it is really difficult. If you want to present your work, you need to find someone who is willing to stand next to you and with whom you can build a genuine connection. That helped us enormously. 

References:

[1] EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation, EU-Japan Trade in Goods 2024, April 2025. https://cdnw8.eu-japan.eu/sites/default/files/eubij/2025-04-EU-JP-Trade-Report-2024.pdf

[2] Statistics Denmark, Foreign Trade by Country and Product (StatBank). https://www.dst.dk/en/Statistik/emner/oekonomi/betalingsbalance-og-udenrigshandel/detaljeret-import-og-eksport

[3] Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Japan-Denmark Bilateral Relations. https://www.mofa.go.jp/region/europe/denmark/data.html

[4] Embassy of Denmark in Japan, Key Economic Figures. https://japan.um.dk/en/the-trade-council/the-japanese-market/key-economic-figures