Kotaro Furukawa comes off like his designs – cool, approachable, focused.
The 2026 Hh scholarship winner’s goal is “information first”, something he credits to working in UI/UX design before studying the graphic arts at Spokane Falls Community College. That’s 5,000 miles away from his home in Tokyo. He talks of having “two minds in my brain”; not just thinking in Japanese and translating to English, but also balancing his artistic impulses with a project’s needs.
At a young age, Kotaro shows such restraint, aligning with the “cheat code” of his favorite designer, Virgil Abloh: Change an existing design 3 percent, and you get something recognizable but new.
Remixing is big in Kotaro’s creative life, ranging from the tracks he builds as a DJ to his developing visual style.
“I’ll get inspired and pull a detail into Illustrator, play with the font or color – make small changes to see what it will become. To make it more,” says Kotaro, who first gravitated toward graphic design when he saw Adobe’s Creativity for All promo. He learned Photoshop on YouTube so he could give a high school friend her dream Instagram icon, and he just kept experimenting.
Now in his second year at SFCC, Kotaro hopes to work in design while pursuing opportunities in music, art, and fashion. That’s a lot to think about, and Kotaro often does so propped against a tree in Manito Park, losing himself in the sounds of ambient kings Brian Eno and Fred Again.
“Sometimes I’m thinking about ideas or the future; other times I’m just looking at someone in the park,” he says with a laugh.
If you happen to see him there, say hi (and ask him to draw you an animal).
To support the goals of up-and-coming designers like Kotaro, consider wearing some cool Hh design.
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