All Comes Down to Context and Concept, Akihiro Kumagaya
by Hiroki Yanagisawa on June 1, 2011 10:30 AM
Akihiro Kumagaya's design thinking, is like hearing a story.
What makes Akihiro Kumagaya, a design director, so extraordinary? It's his deliberate "concept and context-based" design thinking. What's more amusing? His design thinking couldn't have emerged without an existence of okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake) restaurant in Tachikawa, West Tokyo.
"Back in when I was a high school student I used to take a part-time job at a restaurant, just like any other students around my age. At this ordinary and ubiquitous okonomiyaki joint, I was fortunate enough to meet someone who drew me into the world of conceptual and context design."
Akihiro recalled.
What makes Akihiro Kumagaya, a design director, so extraordinary? It's his deliberate "concept and context-based" design thinking. What's more amusing? His design thinking couldn't have emerged without an existence of okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake) restaurant in Tachikawa, West Tokyo.
"Back in when I was a high school student I used to take a part-time job at a restaurant, just like any other students around my age. At this ordinary and ubiquitous okonomiyaki joint, I was fortunate enough to meet someone who drew me into the world of conceptual and context design."
Akihiro recalled.
Katsutoshi Yuasa, one of his colleagues at the restaurant, was from Musashino Art University, one of the top-notch design/art institutions in Tokyo. They got along well, and Yuasa introduced the world of design and art through his graduate works and references. Through this process, he came across with Norman Foster's work, which was a defining moment of his future career.
Norman Foster, a British architect well-known for creating Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank Headquarters in Hong Kong, was in charge of renovating German Reichstag. Foster's approach was very unique -- instead of breaking down or adding a whole new structure like an annex, Foster covered a part of Reichstag with a glazed cupola. From a cupola, visitors can look down and actually observe the parliament itself. With a keyword, "transparency", this idea successfully delivered design and conceptual solutions in one shot.
"Before I got to know this Foster's work, my idea of design was something to do with a material or matter. After this exposure, I began valuing each design's background -- its context and concept."
Akihiro said.
This design philosophy, influenced from Foster, is integrated Akihiro's past works as a design director.
In 2009, Akihiro was selected to produce cellular phone accessories for iida lifestyle products series. This is a part of a design project by au, one of the major cellular network providers. The concept of the project was to redefine cellular phone accessories with a power of design. Akihiro's approach and output were something that surely redefine the term.
Design Sheet is an anti-glare film for a cellular phone screen. If you're talking about the product itself, there's nothing extraordinary about it. Here's Akihiro's twist.
"I wanted to expand the possibility of the accessory's function -- say, creating a gateway or hook for a new communication. The film is designed in a way that it looks 'wet' to others. When someone glances the phone, she may think, 'What's wrong? Your phone is wet!' But in fact, it's just a design. I thought this artificial unusualness is a hook to initiate surprise and ultimately, a communication."
Sumizara ashtray is an output of his interest -- the process of a piece of wood turning to a charcoal.
"We use fire to turn a piece of wood into charcoal. I found this 'charcoalization process' amusing, and was thinking about creating a product based on this process. Since a cigarette uses fire to lit and smoke, I thought an ashtray reminds a sense of this charcoalization process. Plus, a charcoal itself has an deodorizing effect, which is an ideal material for such purpose."
Akihiro has also handled numerous 2-D graphic works and their approaches are same as 3-D works -- the context/concept comes first. For instance, a visual identity project for VIDA Hair & Make, a hair salon in Chuorinkan, Kanagawa: His approach was simply transforming the essences and to-dos at a hair salon into graphic images.
When asked his future prospective, "I'd like to commit to a project that extends longer term, say a few years. This time frame allows me to conceptualize and build up a product's concept in depth. After all, my job is like telling a story of a product to people and the deeper the story, more communicable it gets."
Akihiro Kumagaya's Official Website, http://alekole.jp
Norman Foster, a British architect well-known for creating Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank Headquarters in Hong Kong, was in charge of renovating German Reichstag. Foster's approach was very unique -- instead of breaking down or adding a whole new structure like an annex, Foster covered a part of Reichstag with a glazed cupola. From a cupola, visitors can look down and actually observe the parliament itself. With a keyword, "transparency", this idea successfully delivered design and conceptual solutions in one shot.
"Before I got to know this Foster's work, my idea of design was something to do with a material or matter. After this exposure, I began valuing each design's background -- its context and concept."
Akihiro said.
This design philosophy, influenced from Foster, is integrated Akihiro's past works as a design director.
In 2009, Akihiro was selected to produce cellular phone accessories for iida lifestyle products series. This is a part of a design project by au, one of the major cellular network providers. The concept of the project was to redefine cellular phone accessories with a power of design. Akihiro's approach and output were something that surely redefine the term.
Design Sheet is an anti-glare film for a cellular phone screen. If you're talking about the product itself, there's nothing extraordinary about it. Here's Akihiro's twist.
"I wanted to expand the possibility of the accessory's function -- say, creating a gateway or hook for a new communication. The film is designed in a way that it looks 'wet' to others. When someone glances the phone, she may think, 'What's wrong? Your phone is wet!' But in fact, it's just a design. I thought this artificial unusualness is a hook to initiate surprise and ultimately, a communication."
Sumizara ashtray is an output of his interest -- the process of a piece of wood turning to a charcoal.
"We use fire to turn a piece of wood into charcoal. I found this 'charcoalization process' amusing, and was thinking about creating a product based on this process. Since a cigarette uses fire to lit and smoke, I thought an ashtray reminds a sense of this charcoalization process. Plus, a charcoal itself has an deodorizing effect, which is an ideal material for such purpose."
Akihiro has also handled numerous 2-D graphic works and their approaches are same as 3-D works -- the context/concept comes first. For instance, a visual identity project for VIDA Hair & Make, a hair salon in Chuorinkan, Kanagawa: His approach was simply transforming the essences and to-dos at a hair salon into graphic images.
When asked his future prospective, "I'd like to commit to a project that extends longer term, say a few years. This time frame allows me to conceptualize and build up a product's concept in depth. After all, my job is like telling a story of a product to people and the deeper the story, more communicable it gets."
Akihiro Kumagaya's Official Website, http://alekole.jp
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