2011年3月28日
Designers
I'm taking a break from audio editing to write this entry. As you know, my new books were printed last week, so now I have to make the CD for my conversation book. Four people came to my house yesterday to help me - two American teachers and two Japanese students. I made all the recordings on my wonderful Mac computer, and now I am editing them using a program called "Garage band." It comes free with every Apple computer, and it is really, really good. I was a bit scared of it at first, but now that I have figured out how to use it, I absolutely love it. When I have finished making the CD, you will be able to download it from my website if would like to hear the results of my efforts, so I'll let you know when it is ready.
Speaking of Apple, I read an article this week about a man called Jonathan Ives. Have you ever heard of him? I had never heard his name until a few weeks ago, but he is actually one of the most influential (and richest!) designers in the world.
He is the person in charge of design at Apple. He is responsible for the design of the iPod, the iPhone, and all the iMac and Macbook computers. The article I read told the story of his success. Jonathan Ives is actually British. He graduated from a fairly low-level university in the north of England, and he started working for a big design company in the UK. The story of how he got from there to being the chief designer for one of the most successful companies in the world is really amazing, so if you have time this week, please Google his name and see what you can find.
Actually, I was wondering who the most famous designers in Japan might be. I don't mean just fashion designers, I mean anything, including buildings, cars, and electronics. Since I started producing my own books, I have become more and more interested in design, so please tell me the names of some people I should be studying.
Anyway, I hope life is getting a bit easier for everyone in the Kanto region, and I hope that spring arrives soon so that the people in Tohoku will have one less thing to worry about.
Look forward to reading your comments.
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Hi David,
It sounds like your Mac computer is really wonderful, or you are a technical genius? Now you can make books and CDs all by yourself. That's amazing! I'm looking forward to hearing the results of your efforts.
I just did a Google search for Jonathan Ives, but my brain refused to read English tonight. I'll try it again later.
I also hope that spring arrives soon for the people in Tohoku and enough fuel will be delivered to them as soon as possible!
Tomo
PS amo - Have a good sleep tonight, and make sure you have the key with you tomorrow;-)
- Tomo
- 2011年3月29日 00:29
Hello, I had a great time yesterday! Please let me know when the cd is ready. I want to listen to it.
- T様
- 2011年3月29日 19:11
Hi David,
I'm glad to hear that you finished your new book and CD. It seems like fun to do it by yourself! I hope as I could be good at technology as you are.
I've never heard of Jonathan Ives. So I searched some sites about him. He is one of a successful man in technology world. I also looked at the works which he and his team had made. I think the designs are simple and stylish.
Speaking of Japanese designers, some names came to my mind. From fashion designers, I can name Junko Koshino, Kansai Yamamoto, Issei Miyake and Hanae Mori althogh I don't know much about their works. From architectual designers (I'm not sure they are just architects or we can call them designers) Tadao Ando and Taro Okamoto. Both of them are really famous. Mr.Ando learned architecture by himself: he didn't study it at university. Mr.Okamoto made Taiyo no Tou (symbol tower of Expo). His idea wasn't accepted at first but people began to love it.
Hi Tomo,
I hadn't answered your comment about teaching English to your children and niece which you posted before the earthquake hit. I wanted to respond to you but, you know, I thought the timing wasn't right. My middle son is going to a junior high from April, so I started teaching him and my youngest English. For starter, I just taught them how to write alphabet, big letters. I don't think I can teach them as successfully as you do. I just hope them to enjoy learning English.
Talk to you later! Fumie
- Fumie
- 2011年3月30日 06:29
Hi
Maybe, Kazuo Kawasaki would be one.
He is an industrial designer and his works include a pair of glasses worn by Ms. Sarah Palin, a former governor of Alaska.
- Nicky
- 2011年3月31日 10:10
はじめまして！
スマートフォン購入をきっかけに、思い切って参加(?)します!
英語、全くの初心者ですがよろしくお願いします!!!
- pan
- 2011年3月31日 11:55
Hi Pan,
Nice to have you with us. And congratulations on getting a new smartphone! I went to the docomo shop the other day, and the display of smartphones is getting bigger and bigger. I think that by this time next year, regular mobile phones will almost be extinct.
Hi everyone,
Thanks for your suggestions. I will google those names and see what I can find.
On the subject of Jonathan Ives, the most interesting part of the article I read concerned his college. He went to a fairly low-level design school, and the writer said that it was difficult for him to get started in his career because British people and companies are snobbish. (If you don't know that word, please check "snob" in your dictionary.) The article made a contrast between Britain, where the most important things for being successful are family, connections, name of university, etc., and America, where the only thing people care about is talent. The writer suggested that Ives could never have been so successful in Britain because he didn't have the "right" background. Actually, I think Japan is a lot like Britain in this respect. I wonder how much talent is wasted in both countries because people didn't go to the "right" universities.
- David
- 2011年3月31日 13:40
Hi David,
Thank you for sharing the information about the designer with us. I have never heard of Jonathan Ives before, so I googled (I don’t know if I can use “google” as a verb…) his name. I struggled to read the article as it was long story, but it was really interesting!
As you said, I think the “right” background is very important in getting a good job in Japan, especially recently. I hope Japanese people begin to value the talent more than the name of university like Americans do.
Aki
- Aki
- 2011年3月31日 15:32
Hi Aki,
Everyone uses "google" as a verb nowadays. One guy I met recently told me that he had found this blog. When I asked him how he knew about it, he said, "I googled you." I guess "google" is a regular verb!
- David
- 2011年3月31日 16:04
Hello, everyone. My name is Tomoyo.
This is my first time to visit your website. I'd been looking for the opportunity to improve my English.
I still have difficulty in speaking and writing in English but
I'd like to join you and hope it will help me improve my English.
Thank you.
Tomoyo
- Tomoyo
- 2011年3月31日 16:11
Hi David,
Am I the guy who googled you?
I understand why you asked us which computer like, Mac or Windows, after reading this blog.
It's interesting that "right" background is important in Britain as well as Japan.
This similarity may comes from the culture of Islands, and way of conservative thinking, I think.
I will keep on studying English through this blog.
If I have a mistakes grammatically, please point it out.
Tony
- Tony
- 2011年3月31日 23:03
Hi David,
Am I the guy who googled you?
I understand why you asked us which computer like, Mac or Windows, after reading this blog.
It's interesting that "right" background is important in Britain as well as Japan.
This similarity may come from the culture of Islands, and way of conservative thinking, I think.
I will keep on studying English through this blog.
If I have a mistakes grammatically, please point it out.
Tony
- Tony
- 2011年3月31日 23:04
Hi Tony,
Thanks for writing a comment. I think you might be right about island nations. Anyway, I hope this blog will be useful for you.
(The last sentence of your comment should be "If I make any grammatical mistakes, please point them out.")
Hi Tomoyo,
Nice to have you with us. I'm glad you are "Tomoyo," because we already have a "Tomo." It might get a bit confusing if we had another one!
- David
- 2011年3月31日 23:25
Hi Pan, Tomoyo and Tony,
Welcome to the blog, looking forward to your next comments.
Hi David,
Some of Designers names already listed, so I will tell you two names, one is Kisho Kurokawa, and other is Isamu Noguchi.
Speaking of "right" background, I hope the situation will be changing in Japan.
Good night and sleep tight,
amo
PS. Tomo thanks for your words, yes I checked that I had taken the key with me next morning.
- amo
- 2011年4月 1日 00:02
Hi Fumie,
Thanks for your reply. Teaching is not easy, but I'm also learning a lot by doing it. One of the good things about teaching English to your children is that it's free!(Juku or cram school tuition is expensive, as you know.) Anyway, let's enjoy learning and teaching English;-)
Hi Pan, Tomoyo, and Tony,
Glad to have to with us.
Pan - こちらこそよろしくお願いします!
Tomoyo - You have a very nice name! My first name is the same as yours:)
Tony - Look forward to reading your comments!
Hi David,
I didn't know that Britain and Japan have a lot in common in that respect. I think companies in Japan are changing, but a lot of people still care about the "right" background or going to the "right" universities. I remember your words you said a long time ago on this blog;
The university you choose is not so important. The important thing is how you use your time when you are there.
I want to tell this to my children if they worry a lot about choosing a university in the future.
Good night, everyone.
Tomo
- Tomo
- 2011年4月 1日 00:06
Hi David and everyone,
Recording on your own computer at your house?
Such an idea never occurred to me! Anyway, you seem to have enjoyed doing its process and I'm happy for you.
As for the designers, other than the names Fumie and Nicky mentioned, well... I'd like to name "Yuko Yamaguchi",the third Hello Kitty designer. I'm not sure if you should be studying or not, but anyway Hello Kitty is very popular not only in Japan but also all over the world. David, I bet you won't forget her face once you have a look at the photo.
I googled Jonathan Ives and read articles. The story about his background is interesting.
By the way, the story about"right" background reminds me of the movie called "The History Boys."
This is the movie about eight working class English grammar school students studying together and competing with each other to get scholarships to Cambridge and Oxford in the 80s.
Hi Nicky,Pan,Aki,Tomoyo and Tony,
Nice to meet you!! Looking forward to reading your comment again.
Bye for now,
Anne
- Anne
- 2011年4月 1日 00:34
it's me again.
Sorry, I'm afraid,Nicky and Aki,your comments weren't the first ones. Looking forward to hearing from you again^^)
- Anne
- 2011年4月 1日 00:40
Thank you so much for your warm welcome, everyone.
I've learnt a lot from your comments.
I hope I will be able to discuss lots of things in English like you do. I'll try my best to join your conversation.
Thank you for your reply again.
Tomoyo
- Tomoyo
- 2011年4月 1日 09:16
Ｈｉ！It's my first comment,here.
I can't write English very well,
however I'd like to try it!!
I am piyoko195.
I think that one of the famaous japanese
industrial designer is Kashiwa Sato.
He works with Honda,Kirin,Docomo etc.
- piyoko195
- 2011年4月 6日 16:36
Hi David,
I have never heard of Jonathan Ives before, so I will google his name later.
Hi everyone,
I had a bad day today, I went past my stop tonight. And then, I found myself that I did not have the key to house in front of the door. I emailed my sister to ask when she would come home. In a nutshell, I had to wait almost 1 hour to go into the house. so I am a bit tired today!!
Good night,
amo