WHO WE ARE
CoCollaborations, LLC, is a creative/business service studio of Coco Masuda and Steve J. Hill. We are based in New York City and Copake, NY.
The business was launched in the summer of 2017 by Coco Masuda as a collaborative boutique agency. The business model was to form a collaborative team based on the needs of each project. And she aspired to build cultural and business bridges between Japan and North America and to support the goals of her clients. The prolonging pandemic changed the focus and to service more local, the US, clients as well.
Now, welcoming Steve as an official partner, our services are informed by both our experiences and skills with the support of collaborators whenever necessary. We are the business owners and the primary creatives, and we serve as the contact for each client. This means we work with a personal commitment.
We strive to make sure your project exceeds expectations and is on message, on time, and on budget. We pour passion into each project while striving to attain the highest quality results.
Coco Masuda
Managing Director, Consultant
Website designer
Translator, Interpreter
Coco has unique all-around skills in creative communications and business cultivated by having had a wide range of careers. She understands the daily struggles of businesses and how to move them to the next level.
Born and raised in Tokyo, Japan, Coco came to the US to study in 1979 and found her home in NYC. A graduate of Parsons School of Design, she has been an illustrator, graphic designer, and artist's agent, and moved on to a career utilizing her language skill and business acumen.
She was instrumental in starting a program at an art gallery in Chelsea, NYC, introducing Japanese and other foreign artists to the New York art market. After leaving the gallery, she continued to represent a few Japanese fine artists. In the summer of 2013, she became a successor of a shipping and remittance company in Tokyo, Forex Japan, and worked on the rebranding and revitalization of the company; two and half years later, she successfully sold it to a direct competitor.
These experiences prepared her to start CoCollaborations in July 2017.
Profile and blog: CocoMasuda.com
Artwork: CocoMasudaStudio.com
A member of ATA, American Translators Association
A member of Nihon Shuji /Japanese Calligraphy: Preliminary 5th degree
Kyokushin Karate 1st degree (black belt)
Steve J Hill
Art Director
Graphic Designer
Photographer
Steve has been a core collaborator with CoCollaborations since 2019. He brings over 40 years of creative design and marketing communications practice in Architectural Building Products, Theatrical/Entertainment Promotion, Financial Services, Higher Education, and Non-Profit.
He is originally from Columbus, Ohio, where he attended the Columbus College of Art and Design. He moved to New York in 1984 and was hired as an art director for CBS and ABC television networks.
From 1989 to 2000, he worked full-time as a freelance editorial photographer for Time, Newsweek, TV Guide, Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, Manhattan Inc., Forbes, and Fortune, to name a few.
In 2013 he co-developed a theatrical company and studio in New York City and helped produce and promote six equity showcase productions. He also designed sets and scenery and contributed to the sound and lighting design.
Since 1998 he has divided his time between running his own communications design firm, art directing a music magazine, and personal photography projects.
Just a few of our very talented and skilled collaborators.
Etsuko Fiore
Editor
Event Planner