LIFE IN JAPAN Sophia Dias,
James "Love" Seely
and Marco Mancini
Occupation:
Tokyo Classified design squad
Time in Japan:
Twenty, two and three years, respectively
You see their work every week
throughout the pages of Tokyo Classified. This week we hear from the mouths of the
designers behind our look.
What do you do at TC?
Sophia: I design and layout the magazine.
James: I' a graphic designer.
Marco: I give art direction.
Where are you from?
Sophia: Japan; my mother's Japanese and my father's Sri Lankan.
James: Huntington Beach, California.
Marco: Sao Paulo, Brazil.
What brought you to Japan?
Sophia: I was born and raised here.
James: At first I came to visit my brother, then I dug it so much I decided to stay.
Marco: I came for a project to make a Brazilian magazine about Japan and a project for a
Brazilian newspaper.
What do you like about TC the most?
Sophia: The international atmosphere in the office and of course, good events and
information listings.
James: Being part of the evolution of TC. It's like a growing baby getting bigger and
bigger.
Marco: I like the idea of TC: information for free.
What kind of music do you listen to while you work?
Sophia: Jazz and Japanese techno.
James: A wide spectrum of music, ranging from Beethoven to Korn.
Marco: Jazz and more jazz.
What three words best describe TC?
Sophia: 100 percent Tokyo info.
James: We can do!
Marco: Free forever (oops, is that two?).
How can the magazine be improved?
Sophia: More people should read and respond to it.
James: Make it bilingual, increase advertisement and spread our distribution to the whole
of Japan.
Marco: It's good the way it is but more: more info, more listings...more!
What's the weirdest thing you've seen or experienced at TC?
Sophia: Oops, no, no, it's too confidential to mention.
James: Whoa, it's top secret.
Marco: It's not true now so much, but no one would keep to deadlines. It was incredible.
I've worked for very large magazines and deadlines are very important. I'm glad everyone
thinks deadlines are important now.
Where do you want to spend New Year's Eve 1999?
Sophia: Anywhere looking at a golden sunset.
James: Anywhere making love to my girlfriend.
Marco: In Brazil, on a beach.
You have to spend the rest of your life trapped on a deserted island with your TC
co-workers. The island has all the necessities for a regular life. You can take three
things. What would they be?
Sophia: Doraemon's pocket, a top quality fountain pen, and an art kit.
James: Ginger, Mary Ann and a surfboard.
Marco: An iMac (with everlasting batteries), my saxophone and a girl.
Occupation:
LIFE IN JAPAN: