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Side project
Tell us what your side project does.
My side project is something that is quite
different from my daily job of design and illustration.
In essence, it’s a dual-purpose travel and language
blog as well as an online shop where I sell my Japan-
related art prints and goods to like-minded fans
worldwide.Why did you create it?
As much as I love design, I’ve always wanted to create
more physical products. There’s nothing quite like the
feeling of holding a real, finished item in your hands
that started as an idea in your head. While it’s fun to
launch a website or see your illustration in an article,
the satisfaction isn’t quite the same. It was only a
matter of time before I started designing products
that expressed my love for Japanese culture.What were you hoping to achieve?
I wanted to share my love for all things Japanese with
other people around the world. Most of my customers
are people who’ve visited Japan or lived in Japan, and
want to decorate their homes with art that reminds
them of their travels. My secondary goal was to have a
place where I could write about my own journey to
learn Japanese, in Japanese—something that isn’tquite appropriate for my personal blog which I prefer
to keep in English.What technologies were used in building it?
I didn’t want to invest a lot of time and effort into re-
inventing the wheel—I just wanted something that
worked out of the box so I could immediately focus my
attention into building my brand. My site runs on
Squarespace, which I find offers a good balance
between blog and e-commerce functionality—both of
which are of equal importance for my side project.How has it been received?
July 2020 will mark my third anniversary of launching
Geri Draws Japan, and it’s been a big success. I’ve got
customers in over 30 countries and steadily increasing
sales. My project helped me win a trip to Japan back in
2016, where I got to film for a TV show exploring the
‘okonomiyaki’ food culture of Osaka and Hiroshima.
Most recently, my project helped me secure an artist
residency in Japan that I completed in September- For three weeks, I lived and worked in a
renovated rice shop, creating a new solo illustration
exhibition that I then held in the space’s downstairs
gallery. Needless to say, I never expected my project
to open so many new doors!
What do you think you’ll do next with it?
I have plenty of new products and ideas for 2020—but
that’s one of the hardest things—finding time to
make everything! I’m interested in exploring more
language-learning products, as I love helping people
learn Japanese. I’m also aiming to get my products
stocked in more physical shops worldwide.SIDE PROJECT OF THE MONTHGERI COADY
Geri Coady is a UK-based
illustrator and designer
who has worked with
clients such as A List
Apart, Nokia Withings,
Simply Accessible, and
Asana. Her book, Color
Accessibility Workflows,
is published by A Book
Apart.
w: GeriDrawsJapan.com
Insta: GeriDrawsJapanINFOGERI DRAWS JAPAN
Designer Geri Coady talks about her side project
designing and making merch for Japan fans.