Design*Sponge » Blog Archive » icff 2009: japan by design

at this year’s icff japanese design got its own special pavillion off to the side of the show, dedicated to products that represented “kansei” kansei was explained as a design’s appeal to human sensibilities and its ability to evoke emotional sensations. each display area at the show represented an aspect of design like light, texture, etc and showcased products that best displayed those qualities. most of the products weren’t brand-new, but were still beautiful and exciting to see- so this morning i’m sharing some of my favorites above and below. i hope you’ll enjoy them… [image above: japanese tea whisk by chikumeido sabun]

this beautiful piece was actually a humidifier, by miyuki yoshida

miura folding model

curved chopsticks that do not touch the table, designed by mikiya kobayashi

wooden keyboard from hacoa

faceted beverage can (my favorite!) by toyo seikan kaisha ltd.

soft fabric carrying vessels were one of my favorite parts of the japanese pavillion. the top carrying bag, part of the RIN booth, was a lovely way to transport materials without using plastic bags. the bottom bags (kurakin), also part of the RIN booth, were made of felt and dyed using “leftover food” ie: coffee grinds, vegetables, etc.

mixing spoon from FLASK

CLICK HERE to see more japanese designs after the jump!

coal
white wood charcoal to eliminate odors, by ginza tanagokoro

bunaco’s wooden table lamp

‘bubble’ glass collection at the RIN booth- i loved how the edges slightly bowed out

aquatic fans (to plunge into water) by ieda paper craft

The soft carrying bag is called “furoshiki.” It’s basically a square of material which can be folded to carry or wrap all sorts of items…there’s a ton of videos on YouTube for different methods. =)

And, of course, all of these photos are beautiful! =)

Ohhh my best friend studied in Japan for a year and came back right around my birthday–she brought me some Chu-Hi in those lovely cans (she knew I would appreciate the packaging more than anything) and we drank them on her back porch while we caught up. I had forgotten all about it until I saw that photo.

I adore that wooden keyboard.

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