The Heart of a Catalog is Editing and Individual Pictures.

ModeratorNDC has been working with Toyota promotion design since its very beginning. Because automobiles are one of the largest manufacturing industries and Toyota is a world-leading company in the industry, it is not a company which we can serve with just half-baked designs. Our history of providing support to this company through design is a source of pride for NDC. While NDC has provided support for Toyota promotions from multiple directions, here I would like to talk specifically about the catalogs.

As media is diversifying and the forms of communication are undergoing radical changes, I would like to take a fresh look at what it means to create a catalog, and what we have in fact created in the past. In some ways the process of making a car into a product and the process of creating a catalog proceed virtually in parallel. First I would first like to ask you about the actual work that is involved.

TerataniThere are catalogs for all kinds of products, not just for cars, however I would first like to talk for a bit about something that is one of the missions and defining characteristics of a car catalog.

A car is a physically large product – a large collection of various mechanisms and materials, and there are only certain locations where a person can view these products. To see them, one has to visit the showroom of a manufacturer or dealer. Moreover even if one goes to see one of these actual products on display, one still cannot see the precise mechanisms and fine details it contains. Because the mechanisms contained inside the product are hidden from view. It is from an organized and edited source of information such as a catalog that users are actually able to understand these parts of the product. However if difficult technical issues are presented directly, ordinary persons will not be able to understand them. So the car catalog must decide how to concisely explain information from the manufacturer so that ordinary users can understand it, and how to present these explanations in a clear and attractive manner. While in fact a person does go to see the product when actually buying it, that person gains a better understanding of the product by both going to see the product and by repeatedly going over the functions and performance information in the catalog, and it is this process which in the end produces the desire to buy the product.

Because a car can only be seen in certain locations, the users are forced to experience the car virtually through the pages of the catalog. They imagine how good the car will feel when they are driving it, and see themselves driving in the scenes shown in the pictures. This leads me to the main subject that I want to speak about: the mission and function of a catalog are not limited to just this communication of information. Although this communication is an important element, it is not everything. As we have produced Toyota Motor catalogs over many years, the role of NDC has been more than expressing how enjoyable a car is to drive, or deepening the understanding of the product through easily understandable explanations.

Because a manufacturer naturally researches a broad range of information when it develops a car, it conducts an orientation for us to explain the types of persons which they expect to buy the car they have developed. At this stage, while there is also an all-encompassing Toyota objective to the development, each individual section also has its own powerful ideas. For example, the section which develops the engine has its own strong ideas for the engine. Each section incorporates new technologies that were developed after much hard work. Of course this is not limited just to mechanical parts; the seats and interior also include new improvements and designs. In short, every section and every division has poured its own feelings into the car.

If we were to include each of these individual feelings in the catalog, we would end up with a limitless amount of product information. Therefore at the first stages of the editing work that produces a catalog, to some degree we have to narrow down the list of features and properties of the product to focus on. During the period before Toyota finally decides that “this is the kind of vehicle that we want to present to the world,” as we create and shape our proposals for editing the catalog, we obtain a variety of opinions from the intermediate processes and collect the perspectives of persons in many areas. The editing work for a rough draft is naturally not a single task, but rather a process that is carried out over several months. We create specific proposals from many different angles until we have exhausted the opinions of the many persons involved with the product.

ModeratorDo you make presentations to each of the individual sections?

TerataniYes we do. However rather than representing each section individually, we apply each of their perspectives to the entire catalog. For example, a certain division may want us to give a prominent position to a new feature that is the first of its kind in the world. However if we tune the catalog so that that part is most prominent, the overall image of the product may be lost. Therefore as we make our proposals, we have to make certain adjustments, such as suggesting a certain degree of prominence for a feature. We gradually coordinate the opinions of each section during the process of creating the catalog. Because the several dozen pages of a catalog incorporate all the feelings and viewpoints of each section, we approach the catalog with the idea that we are responsible for the process of unifying all the internal Toyota perspectives.

Of course, the final result which we create must be a catalog that appeals to all of the persons involved with that model, and in fact before the final result is created we work to coordinate and unify all the different information which we obtained. Although this process is completely invisible to persons on the outside, I think that one reason NDC has been entrusted with producing the Toyota Motor catalogs for so many years is that this coordinating work has allowed us to generate a solid relationship of trust with the manufacturer. Although it is something invisible, the fact that we have always carried out this role is a source of pride for us. I believe that this is in fact something very important for catalog production.

ModeratorIt really is. Because a car is huge collection of mechanical parts, it is a monster of information. It would be impossible to include all of this information in the catalog, even if it ran to several hundred pages. What makes the car as a product appear so very clear is the fact that paper is not unlimited and the information has to be fit into the limited physical space of several dozen pages in a way that is efficient and well balanced. This is only speculation, but I suspect that even if there is a picture within Toyota of a new product based on the performances and numerical values provided by each section, it is not until the catalog is completed that they first see the product as a whole and the form it will take when it is presented to society. In that sense, the completion of the catalog gives the car a clear marketing position.

TerataniYou refer to a “product,” however the development stage takes place before the product exists. In order for something to become a product, it is necessary for there to be a single consistent understanding of the product throughout Toyota. This understanding has to exist not only on the manufacturer side, but the dealers also have to have the same understanding when they present the vehicle to the users. As a result, I think that the process of forming the car into a “product” is extremely important.

ModeratorLooking at it in simple terms, creating a catalog appears to involve just taking pictures and arranging the layout so that the product appears attractive. But in fact it is not like that at all. Design involves proper organization of information and advanced editing work, and I think that the catalog is the most concentrated and symbolic representation of these elements of design.

KawamataThe processes which we ordinarily refer to as sales promotions or mass communication always involve marketing research. They identify the targets, decide how best to present the information to the targets and what feelings to generate in them, and are finally considered a success when the targets buy something. I think that even if such a process does not result in the purchase of a product, it is still important if it at least attracts the attention of the targets. However in the case of Toyota, things are a bit different. The core of a promotion is in providing a clear and complete explanation of the product both within and outside the company so that the product can be understood correctly.

When a person selects a product from the large Toyota lineup, ordinarily he or she selects based on cost issues, garage space, and how the vehicle will be used. Therefore in principle the catalog configuration and copywriting should be different for each vehicle model. However in fact Toyota catalogs vary only a little from the Crown to the Vitz. The layout includes photos of the vehicle styling, the interior, descriptions of the mechanical systems, accessories, and then the specifications. The reason is that the catalog must provide a clearly understandable explanation of this information, no matter what kind of car it is for.

Although Toyota has clearly defined targets, it is Toyota’s style to aim for everyone when it could instead make its targets clearer by refining its expressions towards the core. In order to promote a car to everyone, it is necessary to use photographs and other means to show the spirit and techniques with which the vehicle was made. For example, even though shooting the car from a little to the left would make it look better visually, a different angle is chosen because that angle is best for the purpose of communicating the vehicle’s concept. The backgrounds also are created within a clearly understandable range, using for example scenes of city streets because they are the most suitable for understanding the car. More than the beauty of the scenery or lighting, it is necessary to present a car that everyone can understand. This has always been Toyota’s goal, and I think it is the basis for the work which NDC does as well.

ModeratorThey do not play eccentric to gain attention, do they?

KawamataIt may be orthodox, but helping the user to truly understand a product means not creating a catalog that uses only the best angles and hides the rest. For example, regardless of whether or not the company is proud of how the vehicle looks from the rear, Toyota always includes an explanation of the rear angle in its catalogs. It also shows all the colors. Rather than dimming the lighting and giving priority to creating an atmosphere, they use somewhat brighter lighting so that the fine parts can be clearly seen. This kind of image creation is used throughout the catalog as the company works to meet the expectations of its customers.

However because we are entering a time when selling products is going to be more difficult, it will be necessary to create a greater emotional response, and Toyota is shifting towards expressions that are more focused on the targets. I think that as a production team, we can try a sharper approach in this area.

ModeratorIn general something that is sharp and carefully aimed when it is released appears to be wiser and more intelligent, however its penetration of the target is limited and shallow. Although this might be described as orthodox bluntness, it is not the harpoon with the sharp tip that makes more of an impact on the target, but rather an instrument that is blunt. When striking with powerful force and in the correct direction, without doubt the blunt instrument will penetrate more deeply. I think this is the power of the orthodox approach.

KawamataThat is right. People tend to think that the term “orthodox” means that no design at all is performed, however I think that with Toyota, we have all along been conducting an experiment in creating effective expressions in an orthodox style.

ModeratorWhen one looks at the Toyota Motor catalogs over many generations, one notices the extremely high quality of the vehicle photographs. Rather than an artistic quality, this is a head-on quality of showing the vehicle as it is, without pretense. What were the intentions behind the creation of these photos?

TerataniI have been doing Toyota work ever since I joined NDC. At the beginning, many of the catalog photos were shot using wide-ish lenses to create an exaggerated image. The styling was also somewhat exaggerated. A wide angle lens was also used for the interior instrument panel because otherwise, due to the limitations of the vehicle, it was not possible to photograph the panel because of all the various other items in the way. However this unavoidably produced an appearance that was different from real life. Human eyes are similar to standards lenses, not wide-angle lenses, and the photos in the catalog appeared so exaggerated. Toyota was aware that this was too much stagecraft and that there was the possibility of this approach producing uncertainty in the users. However it was NDC which noticed the issue first. Naturally expressions which are closer to the actual appearance are more honest, aren’t they? Creating something is definitely not the same as exaggerating it. The most normal and understandable view to the users is the view from the driver’s position. Exaggerating the view of the instrument panel was the wrong way to go.

Because the car itself is designed from the perspective of the driver, we really wanted to put the camera in that position. However with earlier cars it was impossible to put a camera inside because the roof was in the way. A 4 × 5 camera is quite large. If an 8 × 10 was used, the roof interfered. So for the shoot we tried removing the rear window and installing the camera on an extension of the driver’s line of vision to take the photo. However even that distorted the driver’s view. As we experimented with trial and error, we realized that we could not take the photo we wanted without cutting the roof, and so we did.

There is also a pillar in the middle of the door, right? At first, we took an extremely large number of shots so that we could combine them in order to create a composite photo so that the center pillar in the middle was not visible. Although these photographs were popular, using the same process for every shoot would have been a lot of trouble, so we had the idea of cutting the body. This is how the “cut body” shots were born.

The photographers tried hard to somehow meet the demands of the designers. This is one advantage of doing a job when everyone on the team is an NDC member. By cutting the body of the car, we were able to shoot from any angle we wanted, and because we did not have to make extensive use of the wide-angle lens we were able to produce expressions that were as close as possible to the human perspective. This was one example of NDC creativity breaking the conventional mold for photographs and images. Ordinary users were not aware of this however.

ModeratorComposites of the background and body are a technique that came from using basic knowledge to combine items which were photographed separately. Although the advent of the digital age has made this a relatively smooth process, before didn’t this involve a long period of trial and error?

TerataniOnce when the designer requested a photo in which the body was stationary but the wheels were turning and the background was moving by, the photographer had to somehow accommodate the request. First he photographed the car standing still, took a blurred shot of the moving background, and wrapped the wheels with strong black string in order to move them and photograph them in motion. Then he combined these shots together. It was an extremely simple idea in theory, however it took a lot of work to match the blurring of the background and the speed of the wheels turning so that the photograph looked as natural as possible. The NDC photography group made a large contribution to the development of basic techniques such as these.

Because different backgrounds reflect differently in the body, we tried an extremely large number of different techniques for creating composite photos, including hanging an enlarged print of a similar background behind the car so that it would reflect on the roof and hood, and placing a tree in the foreground so that it would reflect in the window glass.

ModeratorNow it is the age of computer graphics. With CG, it is possible to generate an image of the car from the design drawings. Of course, it is not as simple as just pushing a button to produce the image. The image is created after vehicle CAD data is installed into a space like a virtual photo studio inside a computer, and a variety of parameters such as the angle of the light and the reflectance are set. The photography techniques which NDC took such pains to develop are now being reproduced again in producing CG.

TerataniThe idea of using CG came from the fact that creating a large number of actual prototype vehicles involves considerable cost and effort. Being able to produce images from the CAD data at the design stage helps in one sense to improve efficiency. However the question is whether or not the techniques of image expression will be able to keep up. Because there is such a need, we must attempt to fulfill it. When CG are created by an operator alone, although they may be three dimensional, they will not be anything like a photograph. Without expertise in lighting and skill in expression, creating a good picture is impossible. When tests were being done with CG images, the skills of a creator became necessary and so they asked us to help. That is when we first started working with CG production. Because at NDC the photographers were involved with the CG, many of their ideas became incorporated in the images, as they requested a certain light or reproducing a certain effect. Now the CG at NDC are at quite a high level.

ModeratorI think that photographs of cars are highly difficult, as they are the most advanced type of product photography. The techniques needed to reproduce in CG the quality that we achieved with large 8 × 10 and 4 × 5 cameras are extraordinarily advanced, don’t you think?

TerataniOrdinary users are not aware that the catalogs they are looking at are produced using CG. The production staff must be proud when the users think they are actually looking at photographs.

The Changing Role of Catalogs

ModeratorThe role of catalogs may be changing. What do you think may become the main method for delivering product information about Toyota cars to the customers in the future?

MiyoshiNow in addition to paper, a broad range of new media types are appearing. According to a recent study, even with the Internet as prevalent as it is, nearly everyone obtains the paper catalog when they purchase an automobile. After using the Internet to find user ratings for reference and narrowing down the general selection to a few models, the buyers then go to the dealers and look at the actual vehicles, and nearly all of them obtain the catalog before leaving. This is just speculation, however I think one reason is that although a person has to be in front of a PC in order to use the Internet, a person can pick up and look carefully at a paper catalog at any time and place. A PC is also inconvenient for looking at something together with your family in the living room. In that sense, I am paying close attention to new devices such as the iPad, which to some extent combine the advantages of paper with the advantages of a PC.

However no matter what the media type, I do not think the basic work of initially organizing the information when introducing a car will change. As you were saying before with photographs, whether the images are taken with an 8 × 10 or a digital camera, or made by CG, the basic information which they must contain is the same. The future will still require the same work to incorporate the color, shape, texture, and unique appeal of the product into a single image.

The process for producing an actual catalog begins with obtaining, reading, and analyzing sometimes more than 1,000 pages of specialized technical information from Toyota. The engineers have wonderful ideas as they create a car, however presenting them just as they are would make the catalog nothing more than a technical manual and most customers would scarcely be able to understand it. Therefore it is necessary to first “translate” all of it from the customer’s perspective. For example, we consider what kind of enjoyment each of the individual technologies will bring when the car becomes a part of the customer’s life. Then we combine and digest this information until it forms the collection of all the individual technologies that is in fact the car before we communicate it to the customer. The feeling is something like building the car all over again, in an easily understandable and appealing way.

When creating SP tools other than catalogs, in most cases the tools are now created based on the product information that was organized in the catalog. Even if the forms of media change in the future, the work of creating product information resources for the customer will not change.

ModeratorIf we give top consideration to what the customers want when we search for the most convenient “form of information,” we may surprisingly find that in some ways the best form is still the highly limited form of paper. It is possible that people will take a new look at paper catalogs, not as a form of old media, but rather as a form that has been carefully considered and chosen again and again.

MiyoshiThe transition to electronic media is not all that difficult. It is simply a matter of editing the product information to suit the appropriate form of media. I think what is difficult is the first step – that of creating the product information resource. Even if those persons who work only with media terminals come up with a new method to replace catalogs, it will not work unless it is constructed of the information which comes from a careful examination of the vast volume of information that exists at the start.

ModeratorElectronic media has its advantages, such as making it possible to easily view the vehicle from a variety of angles, or the ability to use video instead of photographs. However a still image has the cohesive power of freezing a moving entity for examination. Human beings are creatures with limited amounts of time. A lifetime is only 70 to 80 years, and time is truly something precious. We cannot spend three minutes watching a video in order to obtain just a single piece of information. If possible, we want the process to be done in about three seconds. The fact that videos require several minutes of time makes them extremely unsuitable for the purpose of obtaining large amounts of information in a very small period of time. This is something that people have not yet noticed; they are still struck by the novelty of video. This is why I think the use of video for this purpose will eventually be abandoned.

KawamataJust as Mr. Miyoshi said, the most basic parts of catalog production are the copywriting, photography, and illustrations. It is important to gain an understanding of the overall image of the vehicle as early as possible, and to create these parts correctly. Even if the number of pages in a catalog is only one or two, one has to decide what information will be presented in that limited space for the user to understand. This will remain the same even as more and more new forms of media appear in the future. I think that we must continue to propose the best kinds of communication which make it possible to provide enough information in a limited space to the customer so that he or she can have a full understanding of the car.

ModeratorWhat you are saying is that even if the form changes, the basic nature of producing a catalog for Toyota – providing service through design – will not change. Catalogs are often thought of as sales promotion tools, and one might be tempted to think that they are something that can be replaced by new media. However there is strength in information that can be provided in physical form. In the case of a beloved novel, you want to own it as a book, not just in the form of electronic media. When you see a good film, you want to take home the flyer. Books and catalogs are a very fortunate form of data. When you think about it like this, catalogs still have much potential.

KawamataI have this still-vague idea that it may be possible to integrate video into a catalog. However one issue for the future is considering whether or not it is really necessary to give a 360-degree view of the car. Toyota and other car manufacturers have this idea that they cannot promote their products using catalogs alone. Before, people used catalogs for choosing both cars and home appliances, however now because people get information via word-of-mouth, the web, and other sources, home appliance catalogs are now little more than a list of specifications. A car is the second most expensive purchase a person makes after a house, and from what dealer staff have told me, people – and especially young people – naturally investigate on their own before they go to the dealer. They look at the catalogs, search the Internet, and fully investigate the cost and advantages in comparison with other companies before visiting the dealer, and finally they test drive the car before deciding. A sale is made after the buyer carefully considers many different factors, such as the impression the car gives when seen in person from one’s own height, the feeling of sitting in the car, and the sound when the engine starts.

For example, although showing a video of a car driving on the Isle of Man in England might improve the car’s image, this is not the purpose of a Toyota catalog. Its purpose is to present information about the car via photographs and text so that even a customer who has already experienced the car can use it to easily and quickly re-check its information. A single photograph has a definite power. When a person’s grandfather and grandmother pass away, that person hangs a photograph of them in his home. It is not a photograph of them from when they were young, or from just before their death, it is a picture of them smiling slightly, taken about 10 years before, that best symbolizes their lives. Although now some people may instead show a movie on an endless loop, it is the power of a single photograph that brings memories back to life. In a catalog, the power of a single photograph can expand the world view of the persons who see it. Conversely, showing true-to-life movement can even cause the memory to fade or narrows a person’s perspective.

Because it is now possible to print out a single frame from a movie camera up to a certain size, I think that there will be more and more innovations that can be used in the graphics field in the future. However we must not be controlled by our tools; it is our job to select the appropriate type of media and make effective proposals, knowing for example that one proposal is for paper, while another is for e-books or mobile media. For this purpose, we must understand the true nature of a product when we produce our work – an ability that NDC has developed over the 50 years since it was founded, and provide the optimal information which meets the demands of the customer regardless of what form the output takes. When deciding what kind of images and video to use, we must take a forward-looking approach to new methods and means, and be a company that offers the best media navigation to our clients.

ModeratorA single photograph of a person’s grandfather can capture his life. There is a power to a single image that a person chose, knowing that if it were a 30-minute movie instead, then he would not see it. Technology becomes obsolete after just a year, while an application becomes old after three years. In the future, although many different techniques will appear and disappear with dizzying speed, the proposals made by NDC to Toyota will not be distracted by superficial technologies, and our vision of how to present cars will not fade. This is because after 50 or 100 years have passed, only the vision will remain. We will not specialize in style alone when we show a product. Our approach to cars is a confident one that properly shows everything, both the good and the bad.

TerataniThere isn’t much that can be said for simply taking a still image and making it move. Showing a car driving through a nice landscape is like a kind of background music. It lasts for just a short time, and after the image disappears nothing remains behind. Rather than always chasing after the media, we must think of ways of using new media to achieve breakthroughs in the existing graphics world. After all, there are even people who only see a car on paper and never go to see the actual product. The pages of a still-image catalog also stir the desire to look into the product a bit more. With still images, parts cannot be seen unless a close up shot is taken and printed somewhere on the page. As a result, there are many parts which cannot be seen. I think it will be good if the functions of new media are able to achieve a breakthrough in this area. Because NDC takes a proper approach to the fundamental contents, naturally it will also be able to handle increasingly functional types of media.

MiyoshiFor example, it does not take that much time to read one story of a comic book. However in most cases when the comic is turned into video, the time required to view it increases. With a video, you do not know whether or not it is interesting until after you have watched some part of it. There is also a sad feeling when, after watching it, you decide that it was not worth seeing in the first place. With the expressions in a catalog, while there are also times when a video is better, it is possible to process the information effectively without using a video, using a simple two-frame design instead. I want to keep this kind of awareness in mind when I think about and select media and expressions in the future.

ModeratorIn that sense, I think we have entered an interesting time. Although the promotions which for a while focused on the mass media of television are still continuing, because there is an increasingly diverse range of social media including the Internet, it is now necessary to communicate more substantive information to the customers using a broad range of methods with different types of media, interaction, and points of contact. Although we can provide all this information, perhaps it is better for the customer to be the one who forms the image of the product. If it is possible to create a contact point that offers better and more complete communication time, then the product will become highly popular. This is truly about the design of information, and it is the role of NDC to create the core of this design.

NDC has for many years been a partner to top-rank corporations in society. Because of its history of properly investing the high-quality business resources of strong corporations, I think that it will be fantastic if the company can continue to be such a partner in the future. Toyota work is not easy. When there is a company in society with a powerful will, keeping up with that company is very difficult, and the communications expertise which we have accumulated through this work is considerable. Because NDC has been working with Toyota for all of its 50 year history, I think the company should work to further filter these assets and increase their purity in order to meet new challenges.

TerataniI think our mission of properly organizing Toyota product information and delivering it to the users will remain unchanged in the future. We have the ability to correctly prepare contents; it is just the means of delivery that are changing. Although we cannot say simply that everything new is good, I think it is very important that as we move forward we pay close attention to how we should adapt to new media and how we can achieve breakthroughs in ways of communicating information that were not possible before.

KawamataIt is not just Toyota; NDC is requested specifically for much of the work that we do, and we have been highly rated for how we express the essence of a product in a way that can be easily understood. The time when a score of 90 out of 100 was a passing score is over; now, we need to aim for a score of 99.9999.... as close to 100 as possible.

MiyoshiWe have opportunities to speak directly with the persons at Toyota who design the cars as we create the catalog, and I think that when we directly experience the enthusiasm of these persons it becomes a kind of energy we can put to use in the catalog. However rather than simply asking about the performance and creating a neat list, I think that hearing directly from these persons about the feelings part – the ideas behind the car and the desire to see it run – is what allows us to create a catalog that achieves the level we are aiming for.

One of these persons said to me, “I want you to make a catalog that, when people pick it up and look at it, produces a kind of excited feeling in the space located right around their chests.” This is one of the important functions of a catalog: for example, enjoyable fantasies of how that car will enrich the person’s life in the future. I would like to continue making these wonderful catalogs, even if they take different forms in the future.

TerataniThat is exciting, isn’t it?

KawamataThe expressions that result are completely different when one does more than just simply take the photos, write the copy, and organize the information, and from the beginning shares in the initial passion of the product.

ModeratorThat is something very important, isn’t it? Although the fundamentals of what we do are the same, we have to aim for that each time when we make our proposals over and over again.

TerataniOne more thing: during the process of producing a catalog, the copywriter in fact plays an important role from start to finish. I think that one reason that NDC has always been trusted by Toyota is that the copywriters play a quite important part in the catalog production process, and NDC has developed a group of highly talented copywriting staff.

For NDC, being responsible for Toyota work is not simply an assignment; it is in a way a kind of full-time job in itself. To do it well requires quite difficult training. The fact that it has such a specialized group of staff is one of NDC’s strengths.

Moderator50 years have passed since NDC was founded, however the company cannot rest on its laurels. 50 years from the beginning, we must make a new start and focus on our goals for the next 50 years. I also want to think again about how we can maintain our vision of devoting ourselves to Toyota work over 100 years. Thank you all.

March 2, 2010