Cover Hello Kitty’s third-generation chief designer Yuko Yamaguchi, who was recently in Hong Kong, will step down this year (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong/Zed Leets)
Hello Kitty’s third-generation chief designer Yuko Yamaguchi, who was recently in Hong Kong, will step down this year (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong/Zed Leets)
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Yuko Yamaguchi, 70, is stepping down after 46 years as Hello Kitty’s chief designer. The Japanese illustrator talks about her unlikely journey at Sanrio and how she picked her successor
Not even Typhoon Hongxia over the weekend could stop the crowds at Ani-Com & Games Hong Kong from queuing up both inside and outside the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. They gathered to meet the world’s most famous feline-inspired character, Hello Kitty, and her long-time chief designer, Yuko Yamaguchi, who is stepping down after 46 years. Created by illustrator Yuko Shimizu in 1974, the white character with a red bow on her left ear and a distinctive lack of a mouth remains one of pop culture’s most enduring icons, anchoring a massive global merchandise empire.
One might assume that when Sanrio appointed Yamaguchi in 1980, she accepted the role with equal parts pride and trepidation. While she certainly felt pride, she was surprisingly unfazed and by no means stressed. “Kitty wasn’t selling at all back then,” she recalls. With no daunting sales targets to chase, Yamaguchi—who was not initially a fan of the character—approached the task with a fresh perspective.
“The second-generation designer had quit, and everyone assumed there wouldn’t be a third-generation designer. No one wanted to be in charge of an unsold character,” she says. “Then the founder, Shintaro Tsuji [now honorary chairman], said, ‘Kitty was created as a symbol of friendship, so it would be a shame if she disappeared.’” Taking Tsuji’s vision to heart, the creative production department asked several in-house designers to submit new concepts for the character. Yamaguchi, then 24, was among them.
Above Hello Kitty with her chief designer Yuko Yamaguchi at Kimpton Tsim Sha Tsui Hong Kong for a tea event with their fans (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong/Zed Leets)
Hello Kitty with her chief designer Yuko Yamaguchi at Kimpton Tsim Sha Tsui Hong Kong for a tea event with their fans (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong/Zed Leets)
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What Yamaguchi submitted was not merely a refreshed visual identity—such as removing Kitty’s heavy black outlines and introducing versatile outfits—she also developed a complete story universe for the character.
“My main doubt about Kitty was that even though she was set to be an aspiring pianist, there were no illustrations of her actually playing the piano,” she says. “So I thought, if Kitty wants to be a pianist, she needs a grand piano at home. I considered what kind of family could afford a grand piano—in the 1980s, her father would likely have to be a trading company executive.”
She gave Kitty’s father a defined career and decided that, while her mother was a full-time housewife, she had been a pianist in her youth. She also developed the personality of Kitty’s twin sister, Mimmy, imagining that she dreamed of becoming a bride. Narrative in hand, Yamaguchi illustrated a complete story titled The Day the Grand Piano First Came to Kitty’s House.
“When the grand piano arrived at Kitty’s house for the first time, Kitty was thrilled, and I imagined her pressing a key with her index finger,” Yamaguchi recalls. “Beside her, Mimmy had an envious expression, though she wouldn’t play it herself. Their father, taking pride in purchasing the instrument, felt a sense of accomplishment, while the children thought, ‘Wow, Dad is amazing!’ I presented this complete family story to the team.”
Above Hello Kitty’s third-generation chief designer Yuko Yamaguchi (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong/Zed Leets)
Hello Kitty’s third-generation chief designer Yuko Yamaguchi (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong/Zed Leets)
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The head of the production department appointed her on the spot. “When I later looked at what other designers submitted, most had simply brought graphic-style illustrations,” she says.
Yamaguchi’s primary directive was to make Kitty commercially viable. She organised sessions at Sanrio stores, drawing sketches of Kitty to hand out directly to visitors. “I wanted to hear directly from Hello Kitty fans—and former fans. It was crucial that I could see their facial expressions when receiving the artwork,” she says. “Those who had stopped buying Kitty products said they had grown tired of her. She was always wearing the same clothes. I completely agreed. From an outside perspective, even six years after her debut, the design had not evolved, and the colour schemes remained identical.”
Determined to make Hello Kitty relatable, Yamaguchi began aligning the character with contemporary lifestyle trends. “I asked fans about their personal hobbies. At the time, there was a massive teddy bear trend in Japan, with everyone collecting them,” she says. “So I decided that Kitty would collect teddy bears too.” Over the years, Kitty expanded her interests into tennis, gained a boyfriend named Dear Daniel, and adopted a Persian pet cat named Charmmy Kitty.
As Hello Kitty’s original audience matured, Sanrio expanded its product catalog from children’s stationery and plush toys to luxury high-fashion collaborations with brands like Balenciaga and Adidas, consumer technology and themed cafés. The character has also been featured on Japan’s Shinkansen bullet trains and in major museum retrospectives.
Above Hello Kitty’s third-generation chief designer Yuko Yamaguchi holding the plush toys of Hello Kitty and Hello Kitty’s close friend, a teddy bear called Tiny Chum (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong/Zed Leets)
Hello Kitty’s third-generation chief designer Yuko Yamaguchi holding the plush toys of Hello Kitty and Hello Kitty’s close friend, a teddy bear called Tiny Chum (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong/Zed Leets)
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“There is no limit to what Kitty can feature on,” Yamaguchi says. “However, it is essential to consider whether the fans genuinely want a product. We never want to create something that makes them feel disillusioned.”
When asked if she has a personal favourite variation of Kitty, Yamaguchi reiterates that she maintains a professional distance. “It does not matter what I personally like or dislike,” she says. “Character designers are different from artists; you must not create solely for your own taste. Fine artists create what they like.”
In fact, when Yamaguchi joined Sanrio, she had not set out to become a character designer. She graduated with a four-year degree in industrial design from Joshibi University of Art and Design. Back in the 1970s, holding a four-year degree ironically made job hunting more challenging, as many corporate firms preferred hiring two-year junior college graduates whom they could pay lower entry-level wages.
When Yamaguchi graduated in 1978, Sanrio was expanding, and she simply wanted to join the company regardless of the department. “I never once stated that I specifically wanted to be a character designer. It is not as if I was exceptionally talented at drawing anyway. I was simply assigned to the role,” she says. Over her decades-long tenure, she seamlessly filled multiple positions: producer, art director and designer for Hello Kitty and other Sanrio properties.
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Above Yuko Yamaguchi’s design of Hello Kitty from 1982 (Image: courtesy of 2026 Sanrio Co Ltd)
Yuko Yamaguchi’s design of Hello Kitty from 1982 (Image: courtesy of 2026 Sanrio Co Ltd)
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As she prepares to pass the baton, Yamaguchi was not searching for a die-hard Hello Kitty fan or a Picasso. Instead, true to her pragmatic approach, she sought a resilient individual.
“Following in my footsteps brings immense pressure,” she says. “I did not operate solely as a designer; I acted as a producer, director and designer simultaneously. So I delegated the producer responsibilities to one person, the director duties to another, and when choosing the designer, I selected someone who would not crumble under pressure.” Her successor was announced as Aya.
Ever composed and adaptable, Yamaguchi remains unconcerned about the future of the franchise. She is confident that the fourth-generation designer will successfully guide the brand to new audiences.
“We have always created for the younger generation,” she says. “So we will continue listening to what Gen Z fans have to say.”
Zabrina is the Senior Editor, Arts and Culture of Tatler Hong Kong. She specialises in performing arts, visual art and film. Her wanderlust was first fuelled by the Mighty Rovers Antarctica Expedition 2010. Over the years, she has interviewed A-list artists and filmmakers, including Oscar winners Chlóe Zhao and Tim Yip, Golden Horse winner Sylvia Chang, In the Mood for Love cinematographer Christopher Doyle, Pachinko author Min Jin Lee, and Coachella’s first Chinese solo singer Jackson Wang. She won gold at the WAN-IFRA Asian Media Awards for her 2021 feature on the waves of hate crimes targeting Asian Americans.
