'05 Oishii Kitchen Project

Consortium brand logo mark design for a local revitalization project

Tags for product descriptions
CL: Local Industry Creation Council (Fukui City)  CD/C/PR: Nobuko Shimuta AD/D: Cheng Li PR: Atsushi Nomura

Fukui City has since long ago been home to a prosperous textile industry, and has also developed advanced machine and chemical industries connected with the production of textiles. Although there are many traditional small- and mid-sized manufacturers with strong technical capabilities, nearly all of them are involved in the production of cloth, components, and other intermediate materials, and in recent years have seen their work taken away by more cost-competitive companies in Asia. In order to break out of this downward spiral, the Local Industry Creation Council was launched in 2000 in response to a call from the mayor of Fukui City. This council seized the initiative and began working in cooperation with local manufacturers to introduce new Fukui products into the market. It held a competition, soliciting ideas for product development from ordinary consumers, and created products from winning ideas that also matched the technologies and skills of local manufacturers. However these efforts became bogged down when it came to developing sales channels. Because the product categories were highly varied, there was no consistent theme for local development, and neither the products nor the local image gained any new ground.

So what could they do to resolve this problem and create a new platform for manufacturing? NDC requested design direction by product designer Toshihiko Sakai. Working together with Mr. Sakai, we proposed a project called “Delicious Kitchen." The framework of the proposal entailed the creation of a platform for continuous manufacturing and distribution, the creation of a single brand in which companies from different industries could participate, and communication to present a clear world view.

Each of the five participating companies – producers of lace, knives, furniture, advanced textiles, and springs – was matched with a designer, and the overall feel of “Delicious” was firmly established at the core of the brand structure. For the actual products as well, it was decided to pay attention to communication with the users and also to use a graphic design approach that embodied the brand’s world view.

Logo mark
CL: Local Industry Creation Council (Fukui City)  CD/C/PR: Nobuko Shimuta AD/D: Cheng Li PR: Atsushi Nomura

Stationary and business cards
CL: Local Industry Creation Council (Fukui City)  CD/C/PR: Nobuko Shimuta AD/D: Cheng Li PR: Atsushi Nomura

As a result a logo mark that included a communication function became a centralizing entity. The design by Cheng Li created a mark showing a mouth with the happy expression of having eaten something delicious. In a humorous manner, this logo mark expressed the brand’s world view of “using the power of design for more delicious kitchens and dining.” The mark itself contained much potential for expansion. It could be used independently as a functional product; the shape of the mouth could be graphically modified; and it could be used to give expressions to everyday articles. However the mark was used, it expanded the sense of “deliciousness” that was a natural expression of its shape.

Following the first exhibition that was held in May 2005, an additional five companies joined the project and “sweets” was set as the graphical theme for the second exhibition held in 2007. Cheng Li used the design DM, which was made from a soft-textured white paper shaped like a cookie, for the event installation as well, creating an opportunity for the brand to softly spread its world view.

The Local Industry Creation Council later became the Fukui Consortium Brand Development Council, in charge of maintaining the “Delicious Kitchen” brand. However continuing the brand faced the council with new issues.

The key to a successful local revitalization project goes beyond simply designing the products; it also requires creating and maintaining new relationships between products, communities, and users. It is necessary to engender a feeling of participating in something new among the members of the local community, and to continually maintain that atmosphere. For this purpose, I think that multilateral and finely tuned planning, together with communication design that gently brings it all together, are important at all times.


DM for first exhibition


First exhibition Photo: Kenichi Morisaki


Stickers

Nobuko Shimuta
Chief producer of the Nippon Design Center Production Department. Born in Tokyo in 1962. Served as assistant editor for magazines Design no Genba (Designers’ Workshop) and BT/Bijutsu Techo (BT/Art Notebook) for publisher Bijutsu Shuppan-sha before joining Nippon Design Center in 1999. Involved with creating programs to revitalize local manufacturing and communities such as the Delicious Kitchen local revitalization project for Fukui City, and the hanami Project manufacturing collaboration project in Sumida Ward, Tokyo, as well as with Japan brand business, editing of books and websites, creating workshops and learning programs, and studying and writing about design and art. Has coauthored books including Civic Pride – Toshi no Communication wo Design Suru (Civic Pride – Designing Urban Communication) and Workshop – Guzen wo Design Suru Gijutsu (Workshop – The Techniques of Designing Chance) (both published by Sendenkaigi).