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Designing DesignKenya Hara

approx. 464 p.400 color ills, 50 drawings16,5 x 24,0 cmHardcoverEUR 39.90 / GBP 29.90ISBN 978-3-03778-105-0 english

Available May 2007

Japanese design in pure form

Representing a new generation of designers in Japan, Kenya Hara (born 1958) pays tribute to his mentors, using long overlooked Japanese icons and images in much of his work.

In “Designing Design”, he impresses upon the reader the importance of “emptiness” in both the visual and philosophical traditions of Japan, and its application to design, made visible by means of numerous examples from his own work: Hara for instance designed the opening and closing ceremony programs for

the Nagano Winter Olympic Games 1998. In 2001, he enrolled as a board member for the Japanese label MUJI and has considerably moulded the identity of this successful corporation as communication and design advisor ever since. Kenya Hara, alongside Naoto Fukasawa one of the leading design personalities in Japan, has also called attention to himself with exhibitions such as “Re-Design: The Daily Products of the 21st Century” of 2000.

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Kenya Hara is one of the key figures behind the international success story of the MUJI brand

Captures the essence of Japanese aesthetics and simplicity in modern design

First-ever survey and insight into Kenya Hara's work

M U J I─Nothing, Yet Everything

Muji for several years. I intuitively felt that his participation would be vital to

restructuring Muji’s product quality. It was the 8th of January 2002, when I

brought Mr. Fukasawa to Mr. Tanaka’s office to introduce them. Over Japa-

nese tea and buns, we talked of many things, including the prospect of Mr.

Fukasawa taking care of matters of product design.

“This work kept me up at night, it was so fascinating.” These are

the words of Ikko Tanaka, one of Japan’s most illustrious designers. Our con-

versation took place just three days before his sudden death. So transpired the

11th hour passing of the Muji baton from the senior generation to ours.

Muji’s Origin, Muji’s Challenge

The concept of Muji is the offspring of the good rapport between the aes-

thetics of graphic designer Ikko Tanaka and the vision of Seiji Tsutsumi, an

undisputed leader of Japan’s distribution industry. The company came into

An illustration of the flow of decision criteria

for packaging forms, 2002

230

Muji magazine advertisement, 2002

existence in the fall of 1980. Its basic concept was the creation of a group of

extremely straightforward, low-cost items by thoroughly simplifying the pro-

duction process.

Muji’s initial slogan, “Lower Priced for a Reason”, was the work of

Kazuko Koike, who helped prepare Muji’s debut. Ms. Koike, a well-known

curator of contemporary modern art, also acted as a Muji slogan copywriter.

Muji’s management is unique in that creators and managers carry equal weight

in supporting the company’s vision. Rationalizing the production process is a

common idea today, but Muji’s simplification has never resulted in cheapen-

ing. Instead, it has led to the manifestation of aesthetics. Muji, established as

a private brand of the Seiyu supermarket, has grown into a solid corporate en-

| 231 232

pearance has nothing to do with flavor. It was simply a shifting of priorities

that led to a low-priced dried shiitake product. The same can be said of paper.

If the bleaching process is skipped, the finish color is pale beige. Muji uses

this paper for packaging, labels, and other materials. The thorough effort of

simplifying the production process has led to the emergence of a whole list of

products with unparalleled aesthetics. The clear-cut contrast of these products

with the conventional, excessively produced merchandise of the era affected

not only Japan, but the rest of the world. Muji products earned the support

of consumers, who are highly conscious of their living environment, and of

opinion leaders, with their sophisticated perception. There are more than 270

Muji branches in Japan, and more than 6,000 products. Muji also has over-

| 233

M U J I─Nothing, Yet Everything

seas branches in Europe and Asia that have attracted a tremendous global

response.

Muji also has some issues to resolve. In the beginning, the rationalized

production process led to an overwhelming price advantage. But as today’s in-

dustries have founded their production base in countries with low labor costs,

we find it difficult to replicate the price advantage of the early days. We could

compete on product cost by following the same methods, but the Muji con-

cept isn’t based on being “cheap”. We can’t lose our precious spirit in a frantic

effort to lower costs. Furthermore, the whole idea of producing in a country

with low labor costs and selling them in countries with high labor costs is not

sustainable. Muji should be based on the ultimate rationale of adequate qual-

Concept book for Milano Salone, 2003

Contrasting the Earth/the earth and Muji products.

M U J I─Nothing, Yet Everything

Muji for several years. I intuitively felt that his participation would be vital to

restructuring Muji’s product quality. It was the 8th of January 2002, when I

brought Mr. Fukasawa to Mr. Tanaka’s office to introduce them. Over Japa-

nese tea and buns, we talked of many things, including the prospect of Mr.

Fukasawa taking care of matters of product design.

“This work kept me up at night, it was so fascinating.” These are

the words of Ikko Tanaka, one of Japan’s most illustrious designers. Our con-

versation took place just three days before his sudden death. So transpired the

11th hour passing of the Muji baton from the senior generation to ours.

Muji’s Origin, Muji’s Challenge

The concept of Muji is the offspring of the good rapport between the aes-

thetics of graphic designer Ikko Tanaka and the vision of Seiji Tsutsumi, an

undisputed leader of Japan’s distribution industry. The company came into

An illustration of the flow of decision criteria

for packaging forms, 2002