Tell us a bit about yourself
My friends often tell me that I'm obsessive, that I can sacrifice a lot for it, and that I don't pay attention to anything that doesn't interest me. I pursue the basics of "how things should be" and cut down on all the effort of things that don't relate to that, so I think this is how people feel about it because of the manifestation of it.
Tell us about one of your favourite projects and what inspired you to do it
I think Ubiquitous (tentative title), which I am currently working on, was inspired by a walk I took. I haven't published it yet, but I think it started from the perspective of how we see our surroundings.
What are you working on at the moment?
I have a cycle in me, and until recently I was reading books. Lately I've been catching up on production. I think I'm in a kind of period where I'm digesting what I've taken in and expressing what I've learned. When I get hungry again, I'll probably read a book.
Who are your biggest influencers in the industry?
Hayao Miyazaki, Takeshi Yourou, Daisetsu Suzuki, Eugen Herrigel, Naoto Fukasawa, Taku Satoh, Yoshiharu Doi, Anish Kapoor, Hideaki Anno and Daisuke Kaede.
What was the last thing that inspired you?
Hideaki Anno's latest work on “Evangelion”
Tell us why it's important for you to have a website
Photographs like mine tend to end up being basically self-contained. However, by setting up a place where someone can see my work, I will have a window to the outside in my consciousness. I believe that this helps me in my ability to pursue perfection in my work.
As a professional creative what are your tips in building a good website?
The first is to understand what your site is for. For example, do you want people to focus on the gallery? Do you want people to see what you are up to? etc. Secondly, know how your visitors will feel when they see your site. This means how to divide the site into sections, how to lead them, and what kind of user experience and usability you want to provide.
Third, don't be needlessly decorative. If you focus on a single purpose of the site, you will naturally be left with only the bare necessities.
How do you market yourself?
Don't insist on it yourself.
Why do you use Portfoliobox?
Portfoliobox is great because it is very simple, yet allows you to fine-tune every little detail. It is also easy to operate with the mouse, and knowledge of HTML and CSS is not required. In fact, I don't have such knowledge, but I was able to build my site.
Visit Arata's website for more amazing work and don't forget to follow @aratakakizaki!