There are those who do and those who just talk about doing. This is a story about Roy Kuroyanagi, a guy who inspires me to do a little less talking and a little more walking. Last September on a bank errand, I met a rep named Roy who, in his spare time, started a design concept called Japangeles which he planned to sell these designs on t-shirts. You know, I hear a lot of talk from people who just talk and talk about this great idea that’s gonna be the next big thing. Roy isn’t one of those people, and he’s doing a lot less talking and a lot more doing.

Just a couple of months after our first encounter, I went back to the bank where I ran into Roy again. He’d taken this idea, had gotten a handful of designs completed and had them screen-printed was already selling online. I thought, this guy’s not messing around. The concept is solid and, on top of being designed well, is printed on good quality shirts.

Japangeles is a simple to understand concept of a merging of Japanese and Angeleno cultures. Aptly named, since Roy is a Japanese-American born and raised in Los Angeles. Visually, the concepts are traditional Japanese icons with an American pop culture flair. Take the Lucky Neko cat (you know, the cats you find at most Japanese restaurants with the paw up by it’s cheek) chilling with sunglasses, or his latest design, the YO! MTV raps design written in Hiragana.

I had the opportunity to sit down with Roy and talk about his inspirations and his cultural background. His inspiration spawned and took form as he and came to realize his cultural background which he was able to embrace as he got older.

"I've always looked for ways to express my Japanese roots. Having been born and raised in Los Angeles, I knew I had to combine the two together. One night while doodling, I came up with the Japangeles’ signature design: I heart Nihon overlaying the letters L.A."

Roy created Japangeles is a movement for all people whose cultural pride is a hybrid comprised of their Angeleno upbringing with Japanese roots. His goal is to bring unique and clever designs collaborating the Los Angeles and Japanese cultures in both apparels and other forms of art. He mentions, "I find that a lot of Japanese-Americans want to hold on to their culture. Japangeles is one way we can all represent where we came from but also embrace the city that we live in and love."

Today, Roy runs his Japangeles operations from his loft in the heart of Downtown L.A. close to J-Town. You can find his designs for sale at www.japangeles.net.

Author: Jonathan Wang

Principal & Creative Director of renowned design and creative marketing agency Eat.Sleep.Work, Inc. (ESW) based in El Segundo, Calif., founded in 2005. Follow on Twitter @jondotwang