Designing Japan presents renowned designer Kenya Hara’s vision of how his industry can support Japan in crafting a future founded on a unique philosophy of beauty as well as crowd-sourced wisdom from around the world. A master collaborator, meticulous organizer, and globally conscious innovator, Hara draws on more than three decades of participations in design work and exhibition curating, as well as deep professional interaction with creators from many fields.

In Designing Japan Hara reveals methods that make publicly accessible aesthetic inquiries of how this island nation will proceed as its population ages, other nations take over manufacturing, and technology develops. Illustrations and examples recognize successful problem-solving through design, proving that it is a living, changing industry that remains relevant not in spite of, but as a partner to, advancing technology.

About the Author:

Kenya Hara (*1958) is considered the most influential designer of present-day Japan. After graduating in design from the Musashino Art University of Kodaira in 1983, he worked as a curator and graphic designer before taking on the role of art director at Muji in 2002. Hara is president of the Nippon Design Center Inc., and head of the department of Science of Design at Musashino Art University. He has published widely on his design theory, including the books Designing Design (2007), White (2009), Designing Japan (2018), and 100 Whites (2019).

Через близько 300 об’єктів ця книга досліджує сучасний японський дизайн: від повсякденних предметів і упаковки до дизайну інтер’єру та елементів освітлення.

Зрештою, книга має на меті дослідити те, як японському дизайну вдається використовувати свої матеріали – природні чи синтетичні – і водночас поєднує повагу до традицій із перспективним мисленням та експериментуванням.

Представлені об’єкти були обрані через їхній сильний японський характер і вплив цієї «японщини» на західну культуру. Замість того, щоб слідувати хронологічному порядку чи зосереджуватися на дизайнерах, ця книга зосереджена на об’єктах і класифікована за матеріалами, підкреслюючи тісний зв’язок між дизайном і матеріалом у Японії.

Книга включатиме приклади деяких із найважливіших японських дизайнерів від Сорі Янагі та Широ Курамати до Наото Фукасава та Токудзіна Йосіоки, а також буде вступне есе про японський дизайн Кенії Хара.

- У цій вишукано створеній книзі читачі можуть досліджувати красу, суть і стійкий вплив японського дизайну через 300 ключових об’єктів, починаючи від каліграфічних пензлів і традиційних лакованих коробок бенто до паперових ламп Ісаму Ногучі та іншої сучасної класики.
- Містить внески найважливіших японських дизайнерів, таких як Широ Курамата, Наото Фукасава та Сорі Янагі, а також сучасні вироби дизайнерів-початківців
- Надрукована на крафтовому папері та переплетена в традиційному японському стилі, сама книга є прекрасним предметом, який обов’язково надихне всіх, хто цікавиться дизайном.

Зміст і розділи:

Переосмислення традицій: від ремесла до дизайну Росселла Менегаццо
Витоки японського дизайну Кенія Хара

Дерево, бамбук і лак
Папір
метал
Тканина та текстиль
Керамічні
Синтетичні/нові матеріали

Про авторів:

Росселла Менегаццо — доцент кафедри історії мистецтва Східної Азії в Міланському університеті студій. У 2009 році вона закінчила свій докторський курс зі сходознавства у Венеціанському університеті Ка’ Фоскарі, захистивши дисертацію з історії японського мистецтва та фотографії. Вона курувала кілька подій і виставок і є автором численних текстів про японську фотографію, графічний дизайн та укійо. Вона є постійним автором низки національних газет, пише статті про японську культуру та мистецтво.

Стефанія Піотті отримала ступінь бакалавра зі східноазіатських досліджень у Венеціанському університеті Ка' Фоскарі, спеціалізуючись на японському текстилі та розробці дизайну та моделей кімоно зокрема. Вона працювала перекладачем і науковим координатором на різноманітних виставках японського мистецтва та редактором італійських та англійських видань, таких як Imai. A Retrospective (Electa, 1998), Hokusai (Phaidon, 2004) та Japan Style (Phaidon, 2007).

For Kenya Hara, design begins with the comprehension of the unknown. The explosion of knowledge available to us today can be dangerous for a designer’s creativity. The concept of exformation, to which a chapter was already devoted in Designing Design, continues to preoccupy the Japanese designer. In contrast to information, exformation describes how little we really know and thus becomes the starting point for any type of design. Hara states: “What moves people’s hearts, in every case, is the unknown. Things that people already know don’t excite them.”

Based on a range of projects stemming from Kenya Hara’s teaching at the Musashino Art University, the book describes what exformation can look like in design practice and how this concept alters our classic understanding of information design. Following the path embarked on in Designing Design and its successor, White, Ex-formation continues to explore the void, absence and indeterminacy in contemporary design.

Each year, roughly a dozen students come together at the prestigious Musashino Art University, joining Hara in an attempt to make things unknown. Ex-formation presents their collective efforts, resulting in a book of incredibly beautiful, humorous and thought-provoking design and writing.

About the Author:

Kenya Hara (*1958) is considered the most influential designer of present-day Japan. After graduating in design from the Musashino Art University of Kodaira in 1983, he worked as a curator and graphic designer before taking on the role of art director at Muji in 2002. Hara is president of the Nippon Design Center Inc., and head of the department of Science of Design at Musashino Art University. He has published widely on his design theory, including the books Designing Design (2007), White (2009), Designing Japan (2018), and 100 Whites (2019).

Muji's art director shares his own personal creative process.

Kenya Hara inspires the world with his impeccable design, from the subtle atmospheres and environments he creates as the art director of Muji and his ethereal exhibition designs to his simple everyday objects, packaging and books. His design aesthetic can be traced back to a private practice: the diligent drafting of ideas and forms in delicate sketches and drawings that ultimately develop into compelling solutions. For the first time in his career, Hara gives insight into the captivating early stages of his design process.

Ranging from tentatively sketched beginnings to confident designs of complex concepts, "Draw" immerses readers in the renowned designer's 40-year-long process of sketching and drawing by hand, leaving no doubt about the origins of his authentic designs. From Olympic logos to silhouettes of dogs and detailed drawings of knots, Hara's drawings are as expansive in subject matter as they are minimalist. Their technical skill engenders a true appreciation for draftsmanship, and could motivate even the most art-averse person to start doodling. Set to inspire the next generation of creatives, "Draw" is a gentle, persuasive call for the return to analog processes in the design cycle.

About the Author:

Kenya Hara (born 1958) is a Japanese graphic designer, author, curator, professor at the Musashino Art University in Tokyo and art director for MUJI. He has been awarded many prizes, including the Japanese Cultural Design Award. Hara is the author of "White", "100 Whites", "Designing Design" and "Designing Japan".

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.

About the Author:

Kenya Hara (*1958) is considered the most influential designer of present-day Japan. After graduating in design from the Musashino Art University of Kodaira in 1983, he worked as a curator and graphic designer before taking on the role of art director at Muji in 2002. Hara is president of the Nippon Design Center Inc., and head of the department of Science of Design at Musashino Art University. He has published widely on his design theory, including the books Designing Design (2007), White (2009), Designing Japan (2018), and 100 Whites (2019).