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Qanta Shimizu

Creative Director / Founder at PARTY

Qanta Shimizu is a co-founder and Technical Director of BASSDRUM, a collective of technical directors that he established in February 2018.2 With a background in law, design, and self-taught coding, Shimizu's career took an unexpected turn towards the interactive field.7

Shimizu's professional journey includes:

  1. Dropping out of the University of Tokyo's law program.7
  2. Working as a freelance editorial designer in Japan.5
  3. Joining IMG SRC Inc. / NON-GRID in December 2015 as a Creative/Technical Director.7
  4. Co-founding PARTY in 2011 and serving as its Chief Technology Officer.17
  5. Co-founding PARTY New York in 2013.7
  6. Establishing BASSDRUM in 2018.27

As a tech director, Shimizu specializes in "translating creative and conceptual business into technology and, in the end, programming".5 He moved to the United States in 2013 and is currently based in New York.5

Shimizu is also involved in various creative projects and initiatives:

  • Serving as a judge for the Webby Awards.3
  • Recently serving as the Jury President for the Digital Design category at D&AD.6
  • Working on building and operating a self-made social media platform.4

His work has been recognized with multiple D&AD Awards for various digital projects and campaigns.7

Highlights

Jun 14 · linkedin

What I have been deeply involved in and continuously working on lately is building and operating a completely self-made social media platform. Since its release last year, targeted at Japanese speakers, "state" – a "completely hierarchy-free social network" – has seen many users continue to use it regularly. Now that the UI for English speakers is ready, I would like various people around me to try it out.

First, I am sharing the translated version of the article I wrote at the time of last year's release. You can now request an invitation code from the website, so please apply using the link in the text. From the backend to the frontend, from design to PR, I have done everything myself! Please give it a try.

Also, I will probably be sending invitation codes via DM to some of my friends. Please forgive me for this :)

May 27 · linkedin

Until last week, I had the honor of serving as the Jury President for the Digital Design category at D&AD , and I also participated in judging the prestigious Black Pencil. Thank you to everyone who joined me! It was my first experience of this kind. There's a Japanese proverb, "Send your beloved child on a journey," and it made me realize that I need more adventures too.

I've been journaling about this wonderful experience in Japanese, and I might try translating it into English if I feel like it.

Afterward, I’ve been visiting various European collaboration partners. I had been working in Japan since the pandemic, but I've grown somewhat tired of it, so I plan to venture abroad more. Thank you all for your continued support.

Helen Fuchs/ Bryan-K. Lamonde / Rikke Hindborg / Clara Mulligan / Steve Coll / Akae Wang / Sara Pintado CDLP / Ian Ding

Related Questions

What inspired Qanta Shimizu to co-found BASSDRUM?
How does BASSDRUM differ from other tech director collectives?
What are some notable projects Qanta Shimizu has worked on at BASSDRUM?
How does Qanta Shimizu's background influence his approach to tech and creativity?
What are the main goals of BASSDRUM in the tech industry?
Qanta Shimizu
Qanta Shimizu, photo 1
Qanta Shimizu, photo 2
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Location

Within 23 wards, Tokyo, Japan