Made in Japan! Ultra Quality iPhone Cases Hold the Spirits of Popular Characters [2/2]

Recently, we had a chance to sit down for an interview with Shinichi Matsuba, the director of Gild Design, a company that makes cutting-edge, high-quality iPhone cases that shock fans. If you haven’t read the first part of this interview, you can do so here: http://otakumode.com/news/51425ff3e9331dce660131cf/Made-in-Japan!-Ultra-Quality-iPhone-Cases-Hold-the-Spirits-of-Popular-Characters-1-2

TOM: Are there any selection criteria that you use to choose what anime, manga, or games to collaborate with?
Matsuba: Other than things that are unmoralistic, I don’t have any criteria. Which collaboration products sell depends on the consumers, and I want to increase their choices. For example, I want consumers to be impressed with our lineup in a similar way to Uniqlo’s UT series.

TOM: In regard to the anime, manga, and game collaborations, are there any areas that worry you or that prove difficult?
Matsuba: Because of our detailed laser marking techniques, we can only express things in monotones, so when selecting an image to use, I have to be conscious of how it will look due to this. In order for fans of the work to approve of our designs, we meticulously craft each one.

TOM: Looking to the future, what anime, manga, and games would you like to collaborate with?
Matsuba: I’m not sure if it’s okay to say, but when I was in my first year of elementary school, I remember being nuts about Super Mario Bros., and even today, I still enjoy the games. For that reason, frankly, I want to collaborate with Mario. Truthfully, right now we are progressing with many collaboration projects simultaneously. We are a small business in the countryside of Mie (this project is being worked on by five people) and we are in communication with various makers. I want to increase the selection for consumers without bringing my own taste into it.

TOM: How do you think you will expand to overseas customers moving forward?
Matsuba: Even now, we receive a lot of mail on our website from people who see it and send us requests to either buy or sell or products. I think there are many people who are hesitant to purchase things that are shipped from Japan. Therefore, I want to distribute products that there is a demand for overseas. If there are people out there who could help with this, please contact me.

TOM: Please explain the appeal of your company to our overseas readers.
Matsuba: We design all kinds of things on our cases, from F1 machines to fighter aircraft. I think our products have a unique coolness because they focus on function. I like to think of it as “beautility.” The main area of our company is designing and manufacturing parts for racing motorcycles. However, our specialization is manufacturing smartphone cases that are functional, operable, and impactful using the cultivated techniques and equipment from the motorcycle side of our business. The merit of Gild Design’s smartphone cases isn’t limited to its collaborations. We have been in talks with many publishers, and we create our products by hand without compromising our concept. The result of that, I think, is the recognition of the performance of our cases. From here on, we will keep making our cases better and better.

Gild Design:
http://www.gilddesign.com/en/index.html

This is an original article from TokyoOtakuMode.