Package Koufukuron : Designing for a Low-Level Stable Society - December 8 - 21, 2008
This unfamiliar phrase, “low-level stable society,” is a term that Mr. Nakashima has thrown around with the intention of considering a new value system. It all started with this summer's abnormal weather. Many of you may have experienced the incessant thunderstorms and guerrilla downpours, and become concerned that something may be changing on the planet we live on. Mr. Nakashima said that during the downpour, he thought, “This is just like Thailand. He recalled that American Japanologist Alex Kerr, in his 2002 book “Dogs and Demons: An Unknown Portrait of Japan,” had pointed out that Thailand, which cannot be compared to Japan in terms of economic power, is very rich and superior to Japan. In the pouring rain, I wondered, “What is true wealth? “Is it enough to be happy with the values of making a lot of products and consuming them?” The question of “mass production and mass consumption” was a pressing issue for him. It is surprising that Mr. Nakajima, who is involved in TV commercials that support the spearhead of “mass production and mass consumption,” could come up with such a thought. Although this subject requires thorough discussion, can we not paint a positive picture of a society in which, for example, even if productivity declines a little, people consume well-cared-for products without throwing them away? Isn't it necessary to think about how to come to terms with the earth's abnormal weather, which seems to have begun sounding the alarm bells, in order to create a truly affluent and stable society? Based on this thought, Mr. Nakajima intuitively suggested the key phrase “low-level stable society,” to which we, a group of package designers, strongly responded. In recent years, when environmental issues are discussed, packaging is often mentioned as something that needs to be eliminated. The subject of the exhibition is the package of “pesticide-free brown rice from Nakajima Farm, which is owned by Shinya Nakajima. The 10 package designers will be challenged by Shinya Nakajima to come up with their own answers to the questions posed to them. We hope that by viewing the concepts of the designers and Mr. Nakajima's comments along with their works at the exhibition, you will think together about the role that design can play today.
［Designers]
Naoko Akai (KOSÉ)
Kiyoshi Ishida (KOSÉ)
Hiroyuki Ishiura (Suntory)
Kazushige Oue (Kanome Design Office)
Taishi Ono (POLA)
Masahiko Kimura (GK Graphics)
Mayumi Kondo (GK Graphics)
Kenichi Tanaka (KOSÉ)
Sumiko Matsuda (Nakatsuka Advertising Office)
Shigeru Yamazaki (KOSÉ)
［News in 2008]
Yen appreciates to 87 yen to the dollar
Launch of the Apple “iPhone 3G
Lehman Shock
