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Japanese social illustration service Pixiv launches e-commerce platform for creators

SCORE 1,320

Junya Mori 2013.12.11

See the original article in Japanese Pixiv, Japan’s popular online social illustration platform, has just announced a new service. It’s called Booth, and it enables anyone – even those new to web design – to create online stores. The concept somewhat similar to Base, often referred as the Japanese Shopify, and Stores.jp. Booth has just opened to registration, with plans to launch officially on December 19th. So what is the difference between Booth and the other store-creating solutions like Base and Stores.jp? Booth’s strength lies in its integration with Pixiv, letting users promote products directly on the site, with searchable tags and notification of new products for Pixiv followers. Online stores will be connected to the existing community of the shop owners, making it easy to attract users. The stores will of course specialize in digital content such as illustrations, pictures, movies, music, and books. It will also be possible to offer the products for free so that shop owners can easily provide samples. Booth is being billed as a “creator friendly service”, which means that creators won’t need to pay any initial costs, monthly fees, or sales fees. Only transaction fees on credit card payments will be charged. So…

See the original article in Japanese

Pixiv, Japan’s popular online social illustration platform, has just announced a new service. It’s called Booth, and it enables anyone – even those new to web design – to create online stores. The concept somewhat similar to Base, often referred as the Japanese Shopify, and Stores.jp. Booth has just opened to registration, with plans to launch officially on December 19th.

So what is the difference between Booth and the other store-creating solutions like Base and Stores.jp? Booth’s strength lies in its integration with Pixiv, letting users promote products directly on the site, with searchable tags and notification of new products for Pixiv followers. Online stores will be connected to the existing community of the shop owners, making it easy to attract users.

The stores will of course specialize in digital content such as illustrations, pictures, movies, music, and books. It will also be possible to offer the products for free so that shop owners can easily provide samples.

Booth is being billed as a “creator friendly service”, which means that creators won’t need to pay any initial costs, monthly fees, or sales fees. Only transaction fees on credit card payments will be charged. So creators will be paid nearly the full amount of the product price.

Also if the user stores products in Booth’s warehouse, the company will assist the user in storing, packaging, and shipping. By providing these services, Pixiv hopes to help eliminate these problems to let creators focus on making better products.

I often visit the Pixiv site, as well as Tokyo Otaku Mode, a website curating content about Japanese Otaku/geek culture. Otaku Mode is divided into galleries that presents creators’ works and pictures, and online shops to sell Otaku-focussed products. Unlike Tokyo Otaku Mode, Pixiv previously had only a gallery. As a user of both services, I think Booth will add much value for Pixiv, in the same way that it added value for Otaku Mode, bringing more exciting experiences to users.

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Simple innovations: 5 great stationary designs from Japan

SCORE 1,171

Yukari Mitsuhashi 2013.09.30

The initiative to innovate and challenge the norm is not something that is limited to the tech industry. If we look to the area of design, Japan has a proud culture of evolving even the simplest of everyday items. Take a simple pen for example. You’ll be amazed by the endless number of items you can find at variety shops like Loft or Tokyu. Here are a just a few stationary items that I think are worth a look. Kezuri Cap Kezuri Cap is a pencil sharpener that works in combination with an empty plastic bottle. Waste material from sharpening fills up within the bottle, keeping your desk clean. A 500 ml PET bottle can hold the shavings of ten pencils, meaning you won’t have to change your bottle very often. Kezuri Cap comes in blue, pink, green, and yellow, and can be purchased for 315 yen, or about $3. Sarasa Clip Sarasa Clip recently released its limited edition English tea-scented pens in collaboration with Lipton. They come in ten different scents, including Apple Tea and Caramel Au Lait. They can be found in stationary stores all over Japan. Aritayaki Ballpen Aritayaki Ballpen is a beautiful pen that implements a…

The initiative to innovate and challenge the norm is not something that is limited to the tech industry. If we look to the area of design, Japan has a proud culture of evolving even the simplest of everyday items. Take a simple pen for example. You’ll be amazed by the endless number of items you can find at variety shops like Loft or Tokyu. Here are a just a few stationary items that I think are worth a look.

Kezuri Cap

Kezuri Cap is a pencil sharpener that works in combination with an empty plastic bottle. Waste material from sharpening fills up within the bottle, keeping your desk clean. A 500 ml PET bottle can hold the shavings of ten pencils, meaning you won’t have to change your bottle very often. Kezuri Cap comes in blue, pink, green, and yellow, and can be purchased for 315 yen, or about $3.

Sarasa Clip

Sarasa Clip recently released its limited edition English tea-scented pens in collaboration with Lipton. They come in ten different scents, including Apple Tea and Caramel Au Lait. They can be found in stationary stores all over Japan.

Aritayaki Ballpen

Aritayaki Ballpen is a beautiful pen that implements a traditional Arita ware in its design. This product takes over two years to produce due to the quality of pottery and the difficulty that goes with the expansion and contraction in the process. Aritayaki ballpens hit your wallet hard, with the cheaper version costing 105,000 yen (over $1000). There are other beautiful designs available too, which you can view over on official website.

Kurutoga

Kids and adults in Japan often use mechanical pencils at school or work. Kurutoga is a new type of mechanical pencil that keeps the lead turning as you write, keeping it sharpened at all times. A variety of Kurutoga are available over on Amazon starting 472 yen, just under $5.

Air Press

This pen might come in handy if you spend time working near water, perhaps if you’re a swimming coach for example. Air Press from Tombow is suited for fast-scribbling, or writing on damp paper by pushing out compressed air to emit ink whenever there’s force. Air Press is available for 630 yen (about $6) on Amazon.

Harinacs

Harinacs (which rougly means ‘without staples’) is a paper stapler that doesn’t use the typical metal staple we are familiar with. Instead, Harinacs folds a part of the paper to bind sheets together, able to handle up to eight sheets of paper. There is no need to refill any staples, and its easy to throw documents into paper shredders since you don’t have to remove any staples. Over on Amazon, you can find Harinacs for 518 yen.

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Japan brings brilliant colored designs to boring paper receipts

Yukari Mitsuhashi 2013.09.13

If you go into a Japanese convenience store, you might notice a little box by the register where customers can trash their unwanted receipts. Since the usual purchase is relatively small, many people don’t bother to keep the receipts. But this could change, thanks to a creative little idea called the Design Receipt Project. This project focuses on transforming receipts into a new communication tool. The initiative was started by Hiroaki Sato, and over 16 designers joined in to put their designs on the back of receipts. One of the many talented designers on board is includes Issei Kitagawa, the lead designer at Graph, a design and branding company. The colorful receipt paper can be purchased over on the DRP official website, starting at 2,310 yen. In the digital age, receipts are one of the few physical things we all still come in contact with. But yet no one pays attention to the empty white space on the back. At least, not until now. Thanks to the Design Receipt Project, we may see this previously empty space suddenly being used in new and creative ways! image via. Roomie

If you go into a Japanese convenience store, you might notice a little box by the register where customers can trash their unwanted receipts. Since the usual purchase is relatively small, many people don’t bother to keep the receipts. But this could change, thanks to a creative little idea called the Design Receipt Project.

This project focuses on transforming receipts into a new communication tool. The initiative was started by Hiroaki Sato, and over 16 designers joined in to put their designs on the back of receipts. One of the many talented designers on board is includes Issei Kitagawa, the lead designer at Graph, a design and branding company. The colorful receipt paper can be purchased over on the DRP official website, starting at 2,310 yen.

In the digital age, receipts are one of the few physical things we all still come in contact with. But yet no one pays attention to the empty white space on the back. At least, not until now.

Thanks to the Design Receipt Project, we may see this previously empty space suddenly being used in new and creative ways!

image via. Roomie

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Japanese housewife creates clever inflatable umbrella for tots

Rick Martin 2013.07.26

One of the reasons that I really like writing about Japan is that there is a steady flow of awesome design concepts from here that few other countries can match. Some of them are incredibly simple and elegant, and My 1st Umbrella is a perfect example of this. Umbrellas can be terribly and pokey dangerous items, especially for kids, and parents might be concerns about children getting sharp parts in their eye, or jamming their fingers in the moving components. So one clever Japanese entrepreneur has come up with an absolutely brilliant solution. Her inflatable umbrellas are great for young children, as they are light, easy to carry, and most of all, entirely safe. It looks almost like a bath toy, in fact. Another clear advantage is portability. One umbrella can be deflated in about ten seconds, quickly folded up and put into a bag or purse. Interestingly the creator of the product, Hiroko Yoshida, used to be a housewife, and is now the CEO of My1st. So far her umbrella has been featured on Japanese TV and on the popular publication Nikkei Trendy. If you would like to pick one up for your own little one, My 1st Umbrella…

One of the reasons that I really like writing about Japan is that there is a steady flow of awesome design concepts from here that few other countries can match. Some of them are incredibly simple and elegant, and My 1st Umbrella is a perfect example of this.

Umbrellas can be terribly and pokey dangerous items, especially for kids, and parents might be concerns about children getting sharp parts in their eye, or jamming their fingers in the moving components. So one clever Japanese entrepreneur has come up with an absolutely brilliant solution. Her inflatable umbrellas are great for young children, as they are light, easy to carry, and most of all, entirely safe. It looks almost like a bath toy, in fact.

Another clear advantage is portability. One umbrella can be deflated in about ten seconds, quickly folded up and put into a bag or purse.

Interestingly the creator of the product, Hiroko Yoshida, used to be a housewife, and is now the CEO of My1st. So far her umbrella has been featured on Japanese TV and on the popular publication Nikkei Trendy.

If you would like to pick one up for your own little one, My 1st Umbrella is available at various retailers around Japan.

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Japanese online learning platform to create a new generation of car designers

Yukari Mitsuhashi 2013.07.25

Photo via Car Design Academy Online education platforms are getting a lot of attention these days, and that includes here in Japan. There are platforms like Dot Install or Qiita for programmers, and services like Schoo that use online videos to teach a variety of subjects. But there another online school that has launched in Japan which is a little different from the rest. It’s called Car Design Academy. As the name of the school suggests, this is an online school where students can learn the many methods and techniques for designing cars. In the domestic car industry — and perhaps even outside of Japan too — nurturing the next generation of car designers is a serious challenge. This school was built to address this very problem, and to create new talents with design skills for the car industry. The supervisor and instructor of the class is world famous car designer, Noriyoshi Kurihara. He joined Honda back in 1975 where he began his career designing two-wheel vehicles. He went on to design for Renault, Porche, and many domestic and international manufacturers. He established DCI, his first design company, in 1985, and in 2001, he founded Nori where he designs and…

Photo via Car Design Academy

Online education platforms are getting a lot of attention these days, and that includes here in Japan. There are platforms like Dot Install or Qiita for programmers, and services like Schoo that use online videos to teach a variety of subjects. But there another online school that has launched in Japan which is a little different from the rest. It’s called Car Design Academy.

As the name of the school suggests, this is an online school where students can learn the many methods and techniques for designing cars. In the domestic car industry — and perhaps even outside of Japan too — nurturing the next generation of car designers is a serious challenge. This school was built to address this very problem, and to create new talents with design skills for the car industry.

The supervisor and instructor of the class is world famous car designer, Noriyoshi Kurihara. He joined Honda back in 1975 where he began his career designing two-wheel vehicles. He went on to design for Renault, Porche, and many domestic and international manufacturers. He established DCI, his first design company, in 1985, and in 2001, he founded Nori where he designs and works consulting jobs.

At Car Design Academy, students can learn about sketching techniques and the kind of styling design necessary in designing cars. The class will consist of texts and videos, and there will be assignments given to students in every class. Upon submitting their assignments, students’ work will be evaluated by designers at Nori Inc, including Kurihara.

The program at Car Design Academy will consist of a total of 24 classes beginning on August 5th. The fee is 250,000 yen (or about $2500), but the first 30 students to sign up receive a discounted price of 198,000 yen. For more information about the world’s first online car design school, you can check out its Facebook page. There are lots of great car design photos shared, so it’s definitely worth a look.

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Designing for Women: 10 of the Cutest Color Palettes from Japan

Rick Martin 2013.07.22

Over the past few months, we have written about what we see as a trend coming from Japanese mobile developers: The country is exceptionally good at creating cute web services and apps that appeal to women [1]. On a visual level, a lot of these cute Japanese services possess many of the same qualities. And when it comes to choosing color schemes, that means lots of pinks, pastels, and other soft tones. I thought it would be good to collect some color palettes from Japanese services that are popular with women. For designers out there who are creating web services or apps for ladies, especially ones in Japan, do take note of the choices here when deciding your own color schemes [2]. Here they are, in no particular order: 1. Fril ¶ Fril is a flea market app for female students in high school or college. It encourages users to sell their unwanted clothes online. It was created by Fablic Inc. More on Fril in our database. Color Sample Color Code #ff899a #ffd2d2 #fef6e4 #e9f7f5 #695d53 2. iQon ¶ iQon is an online fashion coordination service. It allows users to create their favorite looks using photos of accessories and dresses…

Over the past few months, we have written about what we see as a trend coming from Japanese mobile developers: The country is exceptionally good at creating cute web services and apps that appeal to women [1]. On a visual level, a lot of these cute Japanese services possess many of the same qualities. And when it comes to choosing color schemes, that means lots of pinks, pastels, and other soft tones.

I thought it would be good to collect some color palettes from Japanese services that are popular with women. For designers out there who are creating web services or apps for ladies, especially ones in Japan, do take note of the choices here when deciding your own color schemes [2].

Here they are, in no particular order:

1. Fril ¶

Fril is a flea market app for female students in high school or college. It encourages users to sell their unwanted clothes online. It was created by Fablic Inc.

Color Sample	Color Code
	#ff899a
	#ffd2d2
	#fef6e4
	#e9f7f5
	#695d53

2. iQon ¶

iQon is an online fashion coordination service. It allows users to create their favorite looks using photos of accessories and dresses available on the website.

Color Sample	Color Code
	#fa3599
	#fff0f4
	#f4f4f4
	#fdfdfd
	#c2b8bb

3. Papelook ¶

Papelook is a mobile photo app that allows users to create their own collages. Users can easily cut out objects by tracing it with their finger, and then rearrange it with other snippets into elaborate photo collages.

Color Sample	Color Code
	#adde6b
	#ee99aa
	#f3ede8
	#49bbcc
	#d7ccb9

4. CocoPPa ¶

CocoPPa is a cute mobile app that lets you collaboratively create cute iPhone homescreens. It offers a platform where users around the world can share and collaborate on these kind of designs.

Color Sample	Color Code
	#642E16
	#FFA7BF
	#F6EBD9
	#C79968
	#FFE8EB

5. Snapeee ¶

Snapeee is a photo decorating and sharing app for iOS and Android. It allows users to alter and decorate their pictures using over 4000 decoration themes.

Color Sample	Color Code
	#aea08d
	#d2c4b0
	#9FE0E6
	#fdd1c9
	#d9d3c9

6. @Cosme ¶

@Cosme (pronounced ‘At Cosme’) is a cosmetics and beauty products internet portal, founded back in 1999. Users can check product reviews and rankings, ask questions about skincare and makeup, and even find out where products are available offline.

Color Sample	Color Code
	#068681
	#775555
	#e8e5e0
	#f9f7f1
	#e88d9c

7. Luna Luna ¶

Luna Luna is a tool that helps women be more aware of their menstrual cycles. By recording your menstrual period and body temperature, it predicts suitable timings for pregnancy, or help with contraconception. The service was originally provided on featured phones, but now there are dedicated applications.

Color Sample	Color Code
	#ffbecc
	#C4E0EE
	#fdf4f5
	#181F55
	#FFFAF6

7. Decopic ¶

Decopic is a photo application that allows users to decorate their photos with cute stamps, frames, and filters.

Color Sample	Color Code
	#723A0E
	#FAA69C
	#6B5954
	#EEF2F0
	#B29F6C

8. Nikkei Woman ¶

Nikkei Woman Online is the internet version of a Japanese lifestyle and entertainment magazine for women in their 20s and 30s.

Color Sample	Color Code
	#cd4a81
	#C97F89
	#A7A098
	#FBFBFB
	#CED7E8

9. Benesse Women’s Park ¶

Women’s Park is a review portal for mothers that launched back in 2000. The public company behind the site is Benesse, whose primary business is education.

Color Sample	Color Code
	#E85369
	#FF7B7B
	#FFFFE8
	#FFECEC
	#016DBF

10. Nailbook ¶

Nailbook is Japanese photo sharing service for nail art. User can save photos by pushing “Kawaii” button.

Color Sample	Color Code
	#F7342E
	#FFC4D0
	#FFD674
	#F7F7F7
	#FEE5EB

Big thanks to Yukari Mitsuhashi who has written about the vast majority of all these services almost single-handedly. ↩
Another big thanks to Ricky Elrod for his clever little Color Palette Generator Ruby script which I used as a starting point for creating the color palette tables above. ↩

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Japanese design house shows a sense of humor, with fun ‘breasts t-shirt’ and more

Yukari Mitsuhashi 2013.07.19

EcoD Works is an interesting Japanese creative design company. Currently there are only a few design works listed on the its website, but they all seem true to the company’s mission: “to create humorous art and design.” Their name, EcoD, can be read backwards as ‘Doke’, which means ‘clowning’ in Japanese. Here are a few funny products from EcoD that we think are great. Hanaga Tap ¶ EcoD Works’ ‘Hanaga Tap’ is an electrical outlet extension shaped like a person’s nose. The company explains that the beauty of the product is that is is unpractical and useless. Hanaga Tap sought 650,000 yen (or about $6,495) on Japanese crowdfunding site Campfire, but fell short of its target raising just 250,000 yen. Moso Mapping ¶ Perhaps the most famous production from EcoD Works is its Moso Mapping project. Moso means delusion in Japanese, and this red bra t-shirt was sold on the Village Vanguard online shop, selling out its first run in just three days. The product was first exibited at Tokyo Designers Week 2012. The Moso Mapping t-shirt is available for 3,600 yen (or about $36) over at Village Vanguard. You can also check out people’s reactions in the video below…

EcoD Works is an interesting Japanese creative design company. Currently there are only a few design works listed on the its website, but they all seem true to the company’s mission: “to create humorous art and design.” Their name, EcoD, can be read backwards as ‘Doke’, which means ‘clowning’ in Japanese. Here are a few funny products from EcoD that we think are great.

Hanaga Tap ¶

EcoD Works’ ‘Hanaga Tap’ is an electrical outlet extension shaped like a person’s nose. The company explains that the beauty of the product is that is is unpractical and useless. Hanaga Tap sought 650,000 yen (or about $6,495) on Japanese crowdfunding site Campfire, but fell short of its target raising just 250,000 yen.

Moso Mapping ¶

Perhaps the most famous production from EcoD Works is its Moso Mapping project. Moso means delusion in Japanese, and this red bra t-shirt was sold on the Village Vanguard online shop, selling out its first run in just three days. The product was first exibited at Tokyo Designers Week 2012.

The Moso Mapping t-shirt is available for 3,600 yen (or about $36) over at Village Vanguard. You can also check out people’s reactions in the video below as girls wearing the t-shirt walk around Tokyo’s Ginza district.

Chu-Lip ¶

Chu-Lip is product whose name is coined term from the word ‘tulip’, some clever wordplay considering that ‘chu’ means a kiss in Japanese. You can use Chu-Lip as a vase, or drink from it using a straw. The product comes in glossy red or white, and is available for purchase over on craft website Minne for 3,360 yen (or about $34).

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Honda’s innovation history in a magical 2-minute video

Yukari Mitsuhashi 2013.07.09

Japanese automotive giant Honda is generally considered to be an exceptional company because of its principles and lean manufacturing. From motorcycles to cars to robots — the series of innovations that Honda has produced over the years is pretty astounding. To showcase its past achievements, the company has released a magical two minute video product history. It’s called ‘Hands.’ The video appropriately starts with the line, “Let’s see what a curiosity can do”. The Honda Supercub motorcycle (featured early in the video) was released back in 1958, and has sold a total of over 6o million by 2008. Honda’s Civic started selling back in 1972 and was the first car ever in the world to be accredited under the USA’s Clean Air Act (Muskie Act). And there there is Asimo, Honda’s humanoid robot which debuted in the year 2000. The latest model was released in November of 2011, lighter by 6 kilograms and with an improved walking speed of 9 kilometers per hour. To see more of what Honda engineers have brought to the world, check out the video below.

Japanese automotive giant Honda is generally considered to be an exceptional company because of its principles and lean manufacturing. From motorcycles to cars to robots — the series of innovations that Honda has produced over the years is pretty astounding.

To showcase its past achievements, the company has released a magical two minute video product history. It’s called ‘Hands.’ The video appropriately starts with the line, “Let’s see what a curiosity can do”.

The Honda Supercub motorcycle (featured early in the video) was released back in 1958, and has sold a total of over 6o million by 2008. Honda’s Civic started selling back in 1972 and was the first car ever in the world to be accredited under the USA’s Clean Air Act (Muskie Act).

And there there is Asimo, Honda’s humanoid robot which debuted in the year 2000. The latest model was released in November of 2011, lighter by 6 kilograms and with an improved walking speed of 9 kilometers per hour.

To see more of what Honda engineers have brought to the world, check out the video below.

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Crowdsourcing Cute: How France’s Orangina is leveraging Pixiv in Japan

Yukari Mitsuhashi 2013.06.20

Since many Japanese adults grow up with anime and manga, it is only natural that brands try to communicate with consumers using characters that trigger a certain familiarity or nostalgia. Unfortunately, the Japanese character market is in decline according to a recent report by Character Databank. In 2012, the market shrank by 4.5% compared to the year before, now sitting at about 1.5 trillion yen. The change in media environment, as well as the aging population and low birth rate are some of the reasonings why the industry is stalling. But the slowing market is not stopping brands from bringing new creative characters into being. A soda beverage from France, Orangina, landed in Japan for the first time last year. The popular drink is leveraging the online social illustration platform Pixiv to give its Orangina product a personified/human character. A total of 200 illustrations will be chosen, and the winners will be awarded a one-of-a-kind soda can with his or her character printed on the can. These premium cans will also be displayed at the famous Comiket exhibition in August, as well as the Japan Expo planned to take place in France this coming July. You can already find over…

Since many Japanese adults grow up with anime and manga, it is only natural that brands try to communicate with consumers using characters that trigger a certain familiarity or nostalgia. Unfortunately, the Japanese character market is in decline according to a recent report by Character Databank. In 2012, the market shrank by 4.5% compared to the year before, now sitting at about 1.5 trillion yen. The change in media environment, as well as the aging population and low birth rate are some of the reasonings why the industry is stalling.

But the slowing market is not stopping brands from bringing new creative characters into being. A soda beverage from France, Orangina, landed in Japan for the first time last year. The popular drink is leveraging the online social illustration platform Pixiv to give its Orangina product a personified/human character.

A total of 200 illustrations will be chosen, and the winners will be awarded a one-of-a-kind soda can with his or her character printed on the can. These premium cans will also be displayed at the famous Comiket exhibition in August, as well as the Japan Expo planned to take place in France this coming July.

You can already find over 170 Orangina girl pictures over on Pixiv. We’ve included a couple of fun examples below.

For those of you not familiar with Pixiv, it’s a social platform that was launched back in September of 2007, which allows creators and fans to communicate through art (such as illustrations, manga, as well as essays). It has over five million registered users, and over three billion monthly page views as of September of 2012. Pixiv operates many sister websites like Drawr, where users can upload and share hand-drawn illustrations; and Pixiv Encyclopedia, an encyclopedia for animations, comics, and games.

orangina-2 — from Pixiv user 燈妃(とき)＠touya

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Japan-based design site Creatty launches e-commerce channels

Takeshi Hirano 2013.06.18

See the original story in Japanese. Creatty is a website that allows creators to show off their work online. Connehito, the Japan-based startup that operates the service, recently announced an e-commerce channel called Creatty Store, where creators can sell their works online without inventory. Since its launch back in April of 2012, the website has acquired more than 20,000 fine arts and crafts items from creators. The service is available to access for free on PC, iOS, and Android platforms. On this new e-commerce channel, the startup plans to feature standout designs posted on the platform and help creators to manufacture them for sale. At the time of launch, items available include skins for smartphone handsets and t-shirts only. The startup will take care of manufacturing and shipping, and pay a commission (upon sale) to those who have designed the products. This is a somewhat unusual approach to its business scheme. For many C2C market sites dealing in handmade crafts (such as Etsy), users sell their works online and the platform will take a commission afterwards. The startup originally considered a concept similar to what other C2C services are doing, but instead they stand in the middle between creators and…

See the original story in Japanese.

Creatty is a website that allows creators to show off their work online. Connehito, the Japan-based startup that operates the service, recently announced an e-commerce channel called Creatty Store, where creators can sell their works online without inventory.

Since its launch back in April of 2012, the website has acquired more than 20,000 fine arts and crafts items from creators. The service is available to access for free on PC, iOS, and Android platforms. On this new e-commerce channel, the startup plans to feature standout designs posted on the platform and help creators to manufacture them for sale. At the time of launch, items available include skins for smartphone handsets and t-shirts only.

The startup will take care of manufacturing and shipping, and pay a commission (upon sale) to those who have designed the products. This is a somewhat unusual approach to its business scheme. For many C2C market sites dealing in handmade crafts (such as Etsy), users sell their works online and the platform will take a commission afterwards. The startup originally considered a concept similar to what other C2C services are doing, but instead they stand in the middle between creators and buyers. We asked CEO Shunsuke Oyu about why he chose this scheme. He explained:

For craft creators, we thought it would be very simple to photograph the works they produce and simply sell them online. That was our original concept. We developed a web app for selling them online, but very few people used it. We learned the market was not quite mature [enough]. And it was probably hard for them to make goods by themselves.

Typical creators using the service are generally folks into fine arts. And it’s likely difficult for them to manage an inventory of products like experienced e-commerce merchandisers.

Mr. Oyu explains that the startup will add more creators on e-commerce channels with plans to have up to 50 creators in the coming months. They are expecting to start dealing with canvas prints and fashion items as well.

design

Japanese social illustration service Pixiv launches e-commerce platform for creators