I want to change society from a business perspective, rather than from a welfare perspective.

insights─the shape of the future
DIALOGUE

Fumito Matsuda, CEO of Heralbony, is a twin brother who founded the company that deals with art by people with disabilities, with the mission of "Let your uniqueness shine." Akane Yamaguchi, a designer at NOMURA, has been exploring spatial concept design that generate various forms of communication. What new value are they trying to create through the collaboration between the two companies? We spoke to the two of them.

I was waiting for this kind of value

I knew of Yamaguchi Heralbony when he was still under the name MUKU, but my actual relationship began at a seminar.

In 2020, I was in charge of creating the "Taiyo Museum" at "Taiyo no Ie," a facility in Oita Prefecture that helps people with disabilities become independent, to communicate their challenges over the past 50 years. I learned a tremendous amount about coexistence with people with disabilities and concept design for that purpose. The first time I met a staff member from HERALBONY was when he came to visit me for a seminar to talk about it.

Matsuda: That's where it all began, and we were invited to events hosted by NOMURA By that time, we had already established ourselves as a company, but the reason we twins created HERALBONY in the first place was because we had seen art at the Lumbini Museum in Iwate Prefecture. We were deeply moved, but when we searched the internet for "disability and art," words like CSR (corporate social responsibility), SDGs (sustainable development goals), and social concept design were all that came to mind.

We twins have an older brother who is autistic and has severe intellectual disabilities, and it's similar to how people around us used to say he was "pitiful." We associate "disability" with "lack," and we have the impression that people need money and support. So, wanting to be a switch for a change in society's mindset, we launched Heralbony in the business sector, as a joint-stock company, rather than in the non-profit sector.

I want people to be simply moved when they watch the film. As soon as the word "disability" is used, it changes into something a little different. I wanted to create a company that breaks through that. So, the purpose of establishing the company was to first deliver it outside the welfare industry. I decided to create a form of re-import from the outside to the welfare industry. But at first, it was really hard to manage, and at those times, it was people in the welfare industry and parents of people with disabilities who supported and helped me. They said, "We've been waiting for these values." There was a strong desire and passion there, and realizing that gave me the meaning and significance to continue even when it was difficult, and I think it also led to the spread.

Spiritual wealth becomes luxury

Yamaguchi　 Even when we started working together, there were no big projects at first, and I, along with fellow designer Ryo Onishi, helped out at NOMURA in small, personal club activities. We would have heated discussions at izakayas. The first project that we were involved with as a company was the Hyatt Centric Ginza Tokyo project.
 

Matsuda　 We were originally contacted by the general manager of Hyatt Centric Ginza Tokyo. He discovered HERALBONY while searching for a partner that would fit concept design concept of Hyatt Centric Ginza Tokyo, a lifestyle hotel.

Unlike in the past, luxury does not necessarily mean extravagant things, but rather it is about spiritual richness, such as how the money you spend will be used and what value you will gain from the experience, and they seemed to sympathize with HERALBONY's philosophy.

Change the way we think about "disability" to "distinctness." By doing so, I hope to bring about a change in perception, and I was very happy that the general manager thought exactly like that. However, since it is a hotel space, we need know-how in concept design and interiors construction. I consulted with Yamaguchi and his team and asked them to join the team.

Yamaguchi　 Because this is a hotel interior project, we couldn't do it with the hand-made work that we had been doing in our club activities. We called out to the members in charge of hotels in the company. It was a good opportunity to spread and understand Heralbony's ideas within the company, so we assigned someone who understood the meaning of this project and could concept design with all their heart. So we made various proposals.
 
When I saw the finished product, I was impressed by how Matsuda managed to harmonize art with the interior. He combined several pieces to create a sense of unity in the space, while also concept design to properly convey the artist's intentions. Perhaps out of respect for the artist, he superimposed his own concept design philosophy on the work itself and the artist's intentions. It was a "co-creation" in the sense of creating together, and I was extremely happy about it.

Yamaguchi: At that time, the designer Yoshimura Minehito, who was in charge of Nomura, was good at using a lot of art, but for example, he arranged art inside the drawers and had customers open them and be happy. So, even though he used a lot of art, it didn't clash. With each action of the customer, art appears, and there is a joy of discovery. It's like isolating each piece of art while harmonizing it as a whole.

Turning "negatives" into "positives"

Since the Matsuda Hyatt Centric Ginza Tokyo project, we have collaborated with NOMURA on many projects. One of these is the "Heralbony Art Collection" held at Hankyu Umeda Main Store in 2022. Initially, as a department store, the emphasis was on social significance and sales were not expected to be high, but in the end, we achieved our sales target. We also sold a lot of original paintings. Some customers purchased several pieces because they wanted to display them in their overseas villas. Thanks to this, we were able to hold the event again the following year and again achieved our sales target.

Yamaguchi: That was a big event. The entire building was used for an event called "HARMONY FOR THE SMILE," and the key point was how to use the space in such a large event hall. People were not asked to buy it for charity, but because it was a good product. Moreover, people with disabilities and those without disabilities came to the venue in the same way. I think that was wonderful.

Matsuda: At that time, we had a person who could interpret sign language at the sales floor. There was a customer who said that it was the first time they had ever been served by a sign language interpreter and made a purchase. Usually, these people have given up on customer service altogether. There is a possibility that there are a huge number of such people out there.

Recently, as we have collaborated with various companies, I think that HERALBONY's strength is its ability to turn "negatives" into "positives." For a sanitary napkin we collaborated with a sanitary napkin manufacturer, we had them use our art on the packaging. As a result, we have heard feedback from users saying that they no longer have to carry it around hidden in their handkerchiefs.

Also, the plastic bottles of water that we collaborated with a beverage manufacturer have art on the labels, and the royalties go back to the artists. Water is colorless and transparent, but consumers' purchasing behavior has color. So, both are selling well. If consciousness changes, consumer behavior changes.

I want to create a space where everyone can go out

I think that Yamaguchi 's idea of making art that sells for a high price because it's cool, rather than from a welfare perspective, is simply cool and I respect it. But what has resonated with me and resonated with me the most since I first met the twins, is when they said that they wanted HERALBONY to be a banner for people with disabilities when they go out. They said they wanted to make it easier for people with disabilities to go out without worrying about what others think or feeling reserved.

To digress a little, when my child was born, I had been working in society all my life, but with a child, it was difficult to go out and I even felt uncomfortable riding the bus. I felt quite alienated from society. My second child had severe eczema caused by allergies when he was an infant, and it was painful to be thought of as pitiful, so I tried to avoid people's eyes as much as possible when I went out. Then, while we were out, a woman looked at my child's face and complimented him, saying, "He's cute." I felt that her words had cleared up my preconceptions, and at that moment, I felt like the world had become brighter. I didn't dislike going out so much anymore.

I'm sure that many people with disabilities and their families hesitate to go out for one reason or another, fearing that they might shout out loud, or that others might think they are pitiful or have a hard time, and there are survey results to support this belief. That's why I want to create a place in society where people can go out without having to say "sorry."

Our mission at NOMURA is to "bring Delight and Passion to people through space creation." However, there are many people in society who find it difficult to go out, including not only people with disabilities, but also pregnant women, people raising infants, people with sensory hypersensitivity, people with dementia, and others. If we can create a society where it is easy to go out, more people will be able to bring "Delight and Passion" to them. And we want to do this not just from a CSR perspective, but from the perspective of economic circulation.

This is one of the things I learned through my work at the Taiyo Museum. That many people go out, use public transportation, shop, eat, drink, or use the facilities... Since everyone is a consumer, it creates a win-win situation for companies and stores. It may lead to economic revitalization, and above all, by putting it on a business basis, it can ensure sustainability.

Aiming to become a "platform for an inclusive society"
 

Matsuda: The sense of alienation comes from society separating people with disabilities from those without. HERALBONY aims to change that perception, and in fact, in a survey conducted on EC, more than 70% of people said that their image of disabilities had changed in a more positive direction as a result of HERALBONY.

What is needed is knowledge, not separation but coexistence. Although Heralbony was established as an art business, we hope to eventually become a platform for an inclusive society. Recently, we have been thinking about inclusive creators.

Heralbony has deaf members and wheelchair users, and each of them has a unique personality as a creator. I would like to create a framework where these people can co-create together and open up the possibilities. Then, we will implement and spread this system in various places across the country. It doesn't have to be art, any place would be fine. It could be a swimming school that everyone can attend. Our goal is to become a platform that can add that kind of value.

Yamaguchi: Nowadays, when we try to create a space for the blind, we ask them about their needs, but we rarely think of them as designers. But if they could approach it from a designer's perspective, we might be able to come up with a different idea and create a more comfortable space. I think there will be many more things we can do together with HERALBONY in the future.

 

(Recorded in November 2024)
Photo by Kazumi Kiuchi