2016

The “Package Koufukuron” initiative began in the summer of 2008 as a follow-up to an exhibition of young in-house package designers produced by Takashi Kanome the previous year.
　The following year, 2009, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) came to power, and the “Haken Village” and “sorting” became topics of conversation as people became increasingly aware of the problems of the socially disadvantaged. At this time, people in various fields were beginning to search for ways to imagine new values in an era of low growth with no clear way out. Then came the unprecedented guerrilla downpour, and I remember that everyone was feeling anxious about the current situation, future society, and the environment.
　Under such circumstances, the key phrase that I used was “low-level stable society. This phrase was born from my sense that a society in which people can live in peace without the glamor of a bubble economy and a future without anxiety is what is important. The term “packaged koufukuron” was born from the recognition that it is necessary to consider “what exactly is happiness for us in the future.
　Can't we think about happiness in the future through package design, which is what we do for a living? Is “design,” which has been glittering brightly in the form of supporting high economic growth and the bubble economy, really nothing more than a means to support the market economy? However, this is not a question that can be easily answered, and this exhibition marked the beginning of a struggle to find some kind of answer for each of the participants.
　On March 11, 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake struck. Faced with a crisis of life and the severing of lifelines, we were once again struck down by the powerlessness of “design. All we could do is rooted to the spot in shock in the face of such a great sacrifice. Of course, there were reports of how “design” had contributed to the recovery from the disaster in various ways, but honestly speaking, we had lost all sense of what we could do with the power of design.
　Nevertheless, we held the exhibition. We thought, “Now is the time for ”Package Koufukuron.“ Even if we could not help directly, we challenged ourselves to at least express a feeling akin to a prayer, “We want to bring happiness to people. I think we barely achieved anything but the result of moving forward together, but in retrospect, it was a painful challenge.
　As society changed rapidly after that, our struggles continued year after year. In the past year, the environment surrounding “design” has become increasingly severe as the issues of stadium design and emblem design related to the Tokyo Olympics were discussed as social problems. Our “anguish” is increasing with each passing year.
　But we have not abandoned the term “package koufukuron. We could not abandon it. There is no clear-cut logic to it. But we kept thinking, “There is something in design that captures people's hearts. What is it?” The “Package Koufukuron” issue was like a small boat writhe in agony in the stormy seas of the natural environment and social conditions. Here, once again, we struggle to find the answer through modeling in search of “something that captures people's hearts. We believe in the power of modeling and take on the challenge. There is “something” in “design. And it must be connected to “happiness! I shout to the December night sky while struggling in a small boat. Merry Kurushimi Mas!

［Designers]　
　Naoko Akai (KOSÉ)
　Kiyoshi Ishida (underline graphic)　
　Taiki Inoue (Sony)　
　Kazushige Oue (Kanome Design Office)
　Takashi Kagotani (Dai Nippon Printing)
　Kenichi Tanaka (Cotori Design Standard)
　Kenichi Hirose (Sony)　
　Sumiko Matsuda (Tiger & Design)
　Shigeru Yamazaki (Kose)
　Itsuro Yumoto (Kao Corporation)
　Shinya Nakajima (Tohoku Shinsha)

［News in 2016]
　Kumamoto Earthquake
　SMAP announces breakup
　Tsukiji market relocation issue