On the second day of Designyatra 2024, Hajime Yakushiji, creative director, Dentsu Inc, spotlighted the essence of imagination’s role in advertising. 

Yakushiji's keynote centred around how imagination and creativity are essential in a data-driven world, sparking reflections on the balance between creative freedom and technological constraints.

Creativity vs. constraints

Kicking off the session, Yakushiji shared insights into his experience in the advertising sector. He spoke about the challenges of working in an industry heavily reliant on meeting client expectations and requirements. However, he flipped the narrative, asserting, "One may think requirements limit their creativity, but personally, sometimes we are even more creative with limitations." 

He explained how restrictions often pushed his teams to dig deeper into their creative reservoirs, uncovering ideas that might not have emerged in an unstructured environment. 

Electrifying creativity

Through an example, Yakushiji shared a campaign he worked on with a battery company that transformed the mundane perception of electricity into something special. The campaign gave each battery an individual story, designed to make people think about electricity differently. 

"Imagine each battery having a different story, and they could only choose one," he explained. "Which one would they pick? Suddenly, the battery feels more personal, more valuable."

This 'story' underscored Yakushiji’s belief that imagination has the power to transform even the most utilitarian products into something extraordinary. 

"By touching emotions, we can move people and even change perceptions of something as common as electricity," he said, emphasising the emotional connection between consumers and the products they use.

More than just chocolate

Yakushiji’s next example was a project with a popular Japanese chocolate company. Faced with declining sales, his team sought to give people a new reason to buy chocolate, beyond mere consumption. 

"We had to go beyond just selling a snack," he shared, "We wanted to turn chocolate into an experience—something people would share, gift, and savour with new meaning."

The campaign redefined chocolate as a symbol of emotional connection rather than just a snack, triggering nostalgia, joy, and memories in the minds of consumers. 

"What made this campaign succeed was not the taste of the chocolate, but the imagination we instilled in the consumers—making them see it as more than just something to eat."

Imagination in business innovation

Moving beyond product campaigns, Yakushiji discussed how imagination can fuel business innovation. 

In Japan, he said, nearly 96% of companies acknowledge the need for new business development, yet many struggle to generate fresh ideas. "They have all the data and technology, but they just can’t come up with new ideas. This is because of the excess of logic."

According to Yakushiji, businesses often fall into the trap of thinking within the boundaries of existing logic, leaving little room for new ideas. To combat this, Yakushiji and his team at Dentsu have developed imagination workshops, designed to help companies break free from fixed mindsets and embrace creative thinking. 

"Imagination workshops enhance the creative process, allowing businesses to think beyond data and logic, and to dream bigger," he said.

Space and perspective

One of Yakushiji’s visually compelling examples was a project that showcased Earth from space, aimed at altering people’s perceptions of their world. 

"When one changes someone’s perspective, like showing them Earth from space, it opens up their imagination to new possibilities," he explained. 

This exploration of perception was central to Yakushiji’s argument that creativity can reshape how we see everything from products to spaces. "By using imagination, we can make people rethink their environments and their interactions with the world around them."

The role of imagination in a data-driven world

As the session drew to a close, Yakushiji turned his attention to the balance between data and imagination in today's digital society. He stressed that while data is crucial, it often limits the scope for creative thinking. 

"In a world driven by data, the role of imagination is shrinking," he warned, but he remained optimistic. "The future belongs to those who can marry data with creativity, enhancing imagination to break free from rigid structures."

Yakushiji concluded with a powerful reminder: "It’s not my imagination that matters, but the imagination of the people who experience my designs. My job is to enhance their imagination and help them break free from their fixed mindsets."

Closing it off, Yakushiji remarked, "Imagination is the key to breaking free from the boundaries data imposes on us. It’s the fuel that will drive the future of creativity."