In design, it’s not just about creating visually appealing products — it’s about crafting meaningful experiences that balance aesthetics with functionality. This philosophy is deeply rooted in Japanese culture, and much like Ikigai, it guides me in delivering value on multiple levels. At Peonkun, I strive to create design solutions that are not only impactful and long-lasting but also resonate with a sense of purpose and harmony.
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What is Ikigai?
At its core, Ikigai is a Japanese concept that refers to your “reason for being.” It represents the sweet spot where passion, profession, mission, and vocation intersect — providing you with a sense of purpose and fulfillment in life.
The concept is built upon four essential components:
- What you love | Passion
- What you’re good at | Profession
- What the world needs | Mission
- What you can be paid for | Vocation
When these elements align, you achieve Ikigai — a harmonious state where work and life are balanced and deeply meaningful. This idea is central to many aspects of Japanese culture and resonates with those who seek a deeper understanding of their place in the world.
Ikigai and the Peonkun Brand
At Peonkun GmbH, my design philosophy aligns perfectly with the principles of Ikigai. The combination of tradition and modern innovation is central to both the Ikigai concept and Peonkun’s approach to design.
Ikigai serves as a personal and professional compass, helping me create design solutions that don’t just look good but feel meaningful and contribute to a bigger picture. By incorporating this mindset, Peonkun delivers designs that resonate both emotionally and practically, offering clients more than just a surface-level solution. This connection between my work and the Japanese concept of Ikigai ensures that every project I undertake has depth, intention, and purpose.
Calculating My Ikigai: A Personal Example
To bring this concept to life, let’s use myself as an example and see how the components of Ikigai apply to my career and life at Peonkun:
- What I love: I’m passionate about creating intuitive, user-centered designs that blend traditional craftsmanship with modern needs. The design process, for me, is akin to the Japanese art of forging a katana or caring for a Bonsai — it requires patience, precision, and dedication.
- What I’m good at: With over 15 years of experience in creative direction, UX/UI design, and branding, I have honed my skills in balancing the aesthetics and functionality of design to create meaningful user experiences.
- What the world needs: Today’s world increasingly values sustainable, user-centered design solutions. There is a growing demand for products and services that not only look good but also serve a functional purpose, contributing to a better future.
- What I can be paid for: My clients pay me to help them craft experiences that are both visually engaging and highly functional. By creating user-centered designs that stand the test of time, I deliver value that transcends trends.
Thus, my Ikigai is clear: helping businesses and brands find harmony between tradition and innovation through thoughtful design. This not only fulfills me on a personal level but also allows me to provide tangible value to my clients and the wider world.
Diving Deeper into the Components of Ikigai
While Ikigai may initially seem like an abstract concept, it’s a highly actionable framework that anyone can apply to both life and work. By understanding its core elements, you can align your personal and professional goals to achieve a more fulfilling existence. Let’s take a closer look at each of the components of Ikigai and how they manifest in design and beyond.
Passion: What You Love
Passion is at the heart of Ikigai. It’s the force that keeps you motivated, even during the most challenging times. Passion is what drives you to wake up in the morning, excited to work on something meaningful. For me, passion comes from the love of crafting designs that go beyond mere functionality—they tell a story.
In my design work, I strive to create experiences that evoke emotions, whether it’s a sense of calm, excitement, or inspiration. This is akin to the Japanese art forms that inspire me, such as Katanaschmieden (the crafting of samurai swords) or Bonsai cultivation. Both require patience, precision, and a deep connection to the process. Similarly, design is not just about producing a result; it’s about the journey, the creativity that flows, and the moments of joy that come from seeing an idea take shape.
Passion is what sustains those late nights, those deep dives into research, and the drive to iterate until something feels “just right.” Without passion, work becomes a task, but with it, every project feels like a personal mission to bring something beautiful and functional into the world.
Profession: What You’re Good At
Profession is where your skills lie—what you excel at. It’s the expertise you’ve built over time, through experience, learning, and refinement. For me, this expertise centers on user-centered design, UX/UI, and branding. These are the tools I use to transform abstract ideas into concrete solutions that serve both the client and the end user.
Over the years, I’ve honed my ability to balance aesthetic appeal with functionality. It’s not enough for a design to look good; it must also work seamlessly for those interacting with it. This professional skill set allows me to approach problems with confidence, knowing I can deliver solutions that resonate on multiple levels.
Mastery in design doesn’t happen overnight. It’s the result of years of practice, learning from failures, and evolving with the latest trends and technologies. The satisfaction comes not just from the final product, but from knowing that my skills continue to grow with every new project.
Mission: What the World Needs
At the intersection of personal fulfillment and societal contribution lies mission—what the world needs from you. This component of Ikigai shifts the focus from internal satisfaction to external impact. In design, this often means identifying the needs of users and crafting solutions that address those needs in a way that is sustainable, functional, and meaningful.
The world increasingly demands solutions that are future-proof, environmentally conscious, and user-friendly. At Peonkun, my mission is to help clients navigate this evolving landscape by providing designs that not only meet today’s needs but also anticipate tomorrow’s challenges. Whether it’s creating a seamless user experience for a digital product or designing a brand identity that stands the test of time, my goal is to deliver work that contributes positively to both the client and the world at large.
Mission is what gives deeper meaning to work. It’s about contributing to something bigger than yourself, understanding that your skills and talents can help solve real-world problems. In design, this means creating products, services, and systems that not only look good but also make life easier, more enjoyable, or more sustainable for others.
Vocation: What You Can Be Paid For
Finally, vocation is where the practical meets the personal — it’s the work you can be paid for. This element of Ikigai ties directly into financial stability, allowing you to sustain your livelihood through the work you do. At Peonkun, I provide design services that not only help businesses grow but also offer a fulfilling career for myself.
Being able to make a living from something I deeply care about brings an added layer of purpose and satisfaction to my work. It transforms what could be just a job into something more — a calling. The ability to contribute value to others through design, and to be compensated for it, creates a sustainable loop of giving and receiving. This isn’t just about survival; it’s about thriving in a field that aligns with my values and aspirations.
What’s more, vocation is where the relationship between designer and client is strengthened. By offering services that solve real problems, I’m able to build long-term partnerships that go beyond one-off projects. It’s about creating a reputation for reliability, creativity, and impact — things people are willing to invest in.
Understanding the Overlaps
While the four main components of Ikigai — Passion, Profession, Mission, and Vocation — each bring fulfillment in their own right, the real challenge lies in navigating the spaces between them. These overlaps reveal important insights about the emotional and practical outcomes of focusing on just two or three of these elements, without achieving full alignment. Let’s take a closer look at these in-between states and what they mean for finding true balance.
Satisfaction, but Feeling of Uselessness
Profession | Passion
In this overlap, you are doing something that you both love and excel at, which brings a deep sense of satisfaction. However, without contributing something that the world needs, you may start to feel that your work lacks purpose beyond personal enjoyment. While you might experience fulfillment in your skills and passions, there’s often a lingering sense that your efforts aren’t making a meaningful difference in the world.
Delight and Fullness, but No Wealth
Passion | Mission
Here, you are engaging in work that brings you joy and contributes to the greater good, offering a profound sense of purpose. However, the challenge comes from not being compensated for this work. While your heart and soul are full, the lack of financial support can lead to insecurity or the need to seek alternative ways to sustain yourself. This overlap is fulfilling on an emotional and spiritual level, but without financial backing, it may not be sustainable long-term.
Excitement and Complacency, but Sense of Uncertainty
Mission | Vocation
In this space, your work is highly valuable to the world and you are well-compensated for it, creating excitement and stability. However, without the personal connection to what you love or a sense of mastery, you may feel complacent or unfulfilled. There’s a sense of uncertainty that lingers because, while you’re contributing and getting paid, your passion may be absent, leaving a void that can lead to doubt about whether this path is right for you in the long run.
Comfortable, but Feeling of Emptiness
Profession | Vocation
In this overlap, you are working in a field where you have a strong skill set and are financially rewarded for your efforts, creating a comfortable situation. However, without passion or a sense of mission, your work may feel empty. While you may be comfortable, this comfort comes at the expense of deeper fulfillment. Without a personal connection to what you’re doing or a larger sense of purpose, this state can lead to a hollow feeling despite external success.
The Intersection of These Components
When these four elements — passion, profession, mission, and vocation — align, you experience Ikigai. It’s the place where you are doing what you love, you’re good at it, the world needs it, and you can be paid for it. In this intersection, work ceases to be just about making a living; it becomes a meaningful and fulfilling way of life.
For me, Ikigai is the guiding principle behind my work at Peonkun. It’s not just about creating visually stunning designs, but about delivering something that matters — something that makes a difference to the client, the end user, and the world at large.
The overlapping areas in the Ikigai framework highlight the importance of balancing all four elements — Passion, Profession, Mission, and Vocation. While each overlap offers certain rewards, true fulfillment comes from integrating all four components, creating a life that is emotionally, spiritually, and financially balanced.
Book Recommendation: Ikigai by Ken Mogi
For those who want to explore Ikigai in more depth, I highly recommend “Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life” by Ken Mogi. It offers a comprehensive look at how Ikigai can shape a life of meaning and happiness. You can find the book here.
Why Ikigai is Sometimes Represented Differently
You may notice that Ikigai diagrams found online often vary in how they label the intersections between the four main elements. Some focus on emotional states like “Satisfaction, but feeling of uselessness” or “Excitement, but with a sense of uncertainty.” Others use the primary components as the first intersections and add a third layer to capture the deeper emotional states that arise when one or more elements are missing. These labels aim to describe the emotional experience of imbalance, highlighting what might feel incomplete when the full alignment of Ikigai isn’t achieved.
In this article, I’ve taken a simplified approach, focusing on the logical connections between Passion, Profession, Mission, and Vocation. This approach highlights how each intersection affects fulfillment, without over-complicating the framework with additional emotional labels.
All representations are valid — one emphasizes the emotions tied to imbalance, while the other offers a clearer view of the core components. Ultimately, the goal is the same: to help you find a balance where all four areas align, creating a life filled with purpose and fulfillment.
However, Ken Mogi has his own thoughts on this, which you can explore further in this YouTube video:
Conclusion
The concept of Ikigai provides a framework for balancing personal fulfillment with professional success. Whether you’re a designer, entrepreneur, or creative, understanding your Ikigai can help you align your passion, skills, and mission with your work.
At Peonkun, my Ikigai is evident in the way I approach design—blending tradition with innovation, and creating experiences that are as meaningful as they are functional. I hope this article inspires you to find your own Ikigai and integrate it into your life and work.
Stay tuned for more reflections on how these philosophies influence my design process and the work we do at Peonkun.
