Japan has been famous for its distinct culture in many different fields, but in terms of digital design, we cannot say we have a global initiative. Many of the design practices in Japan are western based, and that is one of the reasons why Ryo has run UX MILK, a webzine based on translation of English design articles, and has become the biggest UX design community in the past 7 years.

After creating a local design community, Ryo begins to wonder, “Is this really the design trend we want to follow?”. Of course, Japan is still in the middle of a slowly progressing digital transformation, so any global trend will work in some ways, but after knowing all the common design practices, it’s time we start finding our own ways. How can Japan fork and branch a new trend?

In this talk, Ryo will talk about his story on how he started his design communities and why he feels discomfort in the common western based UX trends as a Japanese designer. He also explains why it is important to look back on your own roots when you want to sustainably grow as a designer.

Ryo is a Producer at Spectrum Tokyo, and he is also the head of Design Matters Tokyo.

Spectrum Tokyo, digs into broader topics in digital design and introduces the Japanese design scene to the world. In his past career, Ryo founded UX MILK, the largest UX design community in Japan, and contributed to cultivating UX design amongst web/app developers.

With Design Matters Tokyo and Spectrum Tokyo, Ryo aspires to be the bridge between Japan and the world, for better design culture and practice.