INFO

All images on this site are copyrighted and property of Junichi Tsuneoka/Stubborn Sideburn, and shall not be reproduced in print, online, or any other means without our permission. Also, we appreciate being considered for your projects, but please request our permission before placing any of our images in layout for presentation.

What is STUBBORN SIDEBURN?

It is a character graphic project created by Junichi Tsuneoka. We design unique and strong character based illustrations that can apply to many different graphic design project such as posters, cd covers, packaging graphics, logos, corporate identities, book covers, web, animation, advertising campaigns, etc.

Who have you worked for?

The past clients include: Nike, adidas, Brooks, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo!, Publicis, 686 clothing, Complex magazine, Budweiser, House of Blues, Creature, Seattle Best Coffee, IDW publishing, National Geographics and many other.

I like your style. What kind of style is this?

It is often called “California Roll Stylie.” It is a result of both visual and conceptual fusion of Japanese pop culture and U.S. urban culture.

Can you explain your creative process?
“I often think of my creative process as two parts. It starts as spontaneous drawings. I draw whatever I have in my mind first, based on the concept of the project. This is more like doodling. After doing so for a while, I start looking at the drawing as a design. That means that I digest the drawing, simplify it, exaggerate, add things and so on. This second part of the process is carefully calculated and time consuming, compared to the spontaneous first part. At the same time, these two process are important to each other. If one is incomplete, then I will not be satisfied with the result of the design at the end. Everything I design goes through these phases, and I do enjoy both parts of the process in different ways.”

Who is Junichi Tsuneoka?

Junichi Tsuneoka was born and raised in Japan and, upon graduating Waseda University in Tokyo, arrived in the US at the end of the 20th Century.  Being a graphic designer at Modern Dog Design Co. for six years really made a great impact on Junichi’s design career. Because of that experience, Junichi established a style often recognized as “California Roll Stylie,” the result of both a visual and conceptual fusion of Japanese pop culture and American urban culture. He founded STUDIO STUBBORN SIDEBURN to broaden his visual communication and to employ his visual language in art, illustration, and design. Junichi’s pieces possess highly communicative, assertive graphics, and contain clear signs pointing back to his strong design background.

partial list of online interviews and articles about Junichi:
Online tutorial by Junichi
Communication Arts
Computer Arts Magazine issue 190
Trend Hunter article

Soy Source (interview in Japanese, 日本語インタビュー)
Jungle City (interview in Japanese, 日本語インタビュー)

恒岡 淳一 (つねおかじゅんいち)

愛媛県生まれ、横浜育ち。早稲田大学教育学部英文学科卒業後、シアトルで芸術大学コーニッシュ・カレッジ・オブ・アーツを卒業。アディダスの T シャツをはじめ、マイクロソフト、グーグル、ヤフーなど国内、国外に関わらずクライエントは多岐にわたり、幅広い方面で活躍。2006年春に自身のスタジオを立ち上げて独立した。現在はスタジオのデザインワークのかたわら、母校のイラストレーションのクラスで教鞭もとっている。

『僕にとってイラストというのは、絵をただ描くという本能的、半ば衝動的な作業の後、それをいったん消化し、簡略化、誇張、付け足す等という計算的なプロセスによってあたらしい意匠として生み出すことだと思っています。だから過程としては大きく2つの柱からなっているといえます。コインの裏表のようなものでしょう。両方の過程で違った楽しみ方ができるとともに、どちらかが不完全だと作品としてなりたたないといった側面もありますが、そういう背景をふまえて僕のイラストをみていただくとまた違った面白みがあるかもしれません。』