Party merges US and Taiwan arms with Dot by Dot

Party, an independent agency with a presence in Japan, the US and Taiwan, has merged its New York and Taipei offices with Dot by Dot, a Japanese creative production company, to form a new entity called Whatever.

The company will be led by Party co-founder Masashi Kawamura as chief creative officer, and Dot by Dot co-founders Yusuke Tominaga and Saqoosha as chief executive and chief technology officer, respectively.

According to the companies, the move is part of an effort to build “an international creative commune”. Whatever will operate a so-called “co-creator system” designed to combine the abilities of full-time staff, clients and freelancers. The company plans to launch an office in Berlin while retaining a presence in Tokyo, New York and Taipei.

L-R: Masashi Kawamura, Saqoosha

Whatever bills itself as “a creative agency, a digital production company, a design studio, a brand consulting firm, an innovation lab, a group of media artists, or whatever you want to call us”.

The company adds in its manifesto: "We don't care about organisational structure. We don't care about company appearance. We don't care about work status. All we care about is making things happen. And we welcome all like-minded people."

Since launching in 2011, Party has risen to become one of the world’s most acclaimed independent shops, fashioning itself loosely as a creative technology company with minimal hierarchy rather than an advertising agency. From the outset, it has made a point of wanting to be “international” rather than Japanese, taking into account that smaller Japanese creative agencies seldom expand overseas.

Dot by Dot is similarly difficult to define, offering digital production, design and content services with technology as its foundation. The company is highly regarded in Japan but little-known internationally.