HARA DESIGN INSTITUTE

MUJI INFILL is an interior finishing service launched by MUJI in China. This is a commercial version of the dwelling space concept presented by Youzhu and Nippon Design Center (Hara Design Institute) at the HOUSE VISION 2018 BEIJING EXHIBITION. Product development was conducted in collaboration with MUJI.

Based on furniture that achieves maximum space efficiency through the use of edge areas such as backs and sides, and on storage areas that perfectly accommodate MUJI's standard modules, MUJI INFILL is a comprehensive system delivering the basic interior structures for your home--such as construction of floors, walls, and ceilings--as well as helping you through to completion of the entire process of selecting, designing, constructing, and installing components such as storage areas, kitchens, sofas, beds, showers, baths, and toilets so that everything fits perfectly in your own custom dwelling space.

The first MUJI INFILL model rooms have opened on the B1 basement level and second floor of MUJI Qingdao Inzone Plaza, MUJI's sixth flagship store in China. Going forward, this service will be rolled out in Shanghai and other cities. MUJI fans in Japan will also be keeping a keen watch.

https://www.muji.com.cn/cn/mujiinfill/

韓国の企業、ハンファ生命保険をはじめとするハンファグループ5社が運営するLIFEPLUSは、 「老い」「病」「死」といったリスクに備えることではなく、「生」に焦点を当て、 人生の全ての瞬間を豊かにすることを目指す保険ブランドです。

シンボルマークの制作にあたっては、モーションを効果的に取り入れた表現とし、
生のダイナミズムを「躍動するかたち」としてシンボライズしています。
イメージの原型は変化を模索しながら運動する「円」です。
円というプライマリーな形も、運動性の中におくと、ひとときも円の形にとどまってはいません。
シンボルマークはそのような「生のかたち」の一瞬を取り出したものです。
ロゴタイプは明快で揺るぎない人生観を表現しています。
基礎的なフォルムの字列に、特徴的な「P」の造形をアクセントとして加えており、
これに合わせオリジナルフォント（英・韓）の制作監修も務めました。

その他、ポスター、ブランドムービー、Webサイトの監修、
グッズ類など、ブランドのアクセラレーション一式を手がけました。
Webサイトは下記URLよりご覧いただけます。

https://www.lifeplus.co.kr/

Kenya Hara has designed a series of "Creative Crossings"to be installed on Kensington High Street where Japan House London is situated.

The installation coincides with London Design Festival 2019, and is part of an initiative aiming to boost the Kensington High Street area brand, enlivening the area.

The design for Hara's Creative Crossing, in front of Japan House London, is based on the Japan House logomark.

Demonstrating the crossing are Cllr Gerard Hargreaves (Councillor for Chelsea Riverside, Kensington), Kenya Hara, Michael Houlihan (Director General of Japan House London), and designer Sascha Lobe. (central photo, from right)

In 2004, a Kenya Hara feature in Idea magazine presented the basis of Hara's approach to design. The same publisher, Seibundo Shinkosha, has now produced a special feature edition of Design Note magazine to cover the trajectory of Hara's career over the decade and a half following the Idea feature. During that period, the scope of his projects has expanded, encompassing major projects such HOUSE VISION, JAPAN HOUSE, and Teikuhiko in addition to fields such as visual identity, branding, and product development. Projects also cover a greater range of scales. In addition to past and current work, the feature looks ahead, presenting new ideas and further developments.

約一年半にわたって準備をしてきました「低空飛行」を公開しました。 これは飛行機の旅ではありません。こんな日本はいかがですか、と 原研哉が選りすぐりのスポットを紹介するサイトです。 地上の景色をつぶさに眺められる高度で、日本の深部あるいは細部を くまなく見てまわる旅をイメージした比喩的な名称です。 アクセスするといきなりログイン画面が現れる単刀直入な設計ですが、 内容はご満足いただけるはず。 コンテンツは月１一回、ブログは月３回の更新予定です。 ユーザー登録をいただくと無料で閲覧いただけます。 https://tei-ku.com...

On Thursday, April 4, MUJI HOTEL GINZA opened on floors six through ten of MUJI GINZA. This is the first MUJI HOTEL in Japan, and the third worldwide, after MUJI HOTEL SHENZHEN and MUJI HOTEL BEIJING in China.

MUJI HOTEL offers accommodation where you can enjoy MUJI during your stay. Based on an "anti-gorgeous, anti-cheap" design concept, it connects guests with the local area in a space conducive to a good night's sleep, providing a place for travelers to refresh both body and mind at a price that is just right.

Hara Design Institute handled the art direction for the entire hotel, designing every point of contact with guests, from the concept for the hotel, the interior and exterior signage, and the website, to the user interface for the tablet apps and controls for the room facilities, the charging station/cable management box, and even the nameplates and business cards for the hotel staff.

https://hotel.muji.com/ginza/en/

We designed the websites for two very special hotels in Kirishima, Kagoshima Prefecture--the TENKU resort and Wasure no Sato GAJOEN at Myoken Onsen.

TENKU consists of only five villas, situated in vast grounds of 60 hectares. It provides a quiet, out-of-the-ordinary experience, completely immersed in the natural surroundings. We used 3D map animations and a concept movie to communicate the vast scale and distinctive proposition of this luxury resort.

GAJOEN is an inn with the air of a traditional community, created by relocating rural architecture. Along with the thatched buildings, there are onsen baths hewn out of solid rock, and the inn serves cuisine of the land of Satsuma, prepared using local vegetables. The almost-forgotten scene of the Japanese countryside is somehow familiar and reassuring.

Both hotels provide an out-of-the-ordinary experience. They are the product of the philosophy and ideas of TENKU and GAJOEN owner Tateo Tajima, who is still working today on his unfinished paradise.

TENKU
https://tenkunomori.net/en/

Wasure no sato GAJOEN
https://gajoen.jp/en/

On the first basement level of MUJI GINZA, MUJI Diner specializes in bringing out the original, natural flavors of the ingredients in the food it serves. In order to encourage people walking in the Ginza area to visit the restaurant, we came up with the idea of installing this sign at the street-level entrance. MUJI GINZA is the company's global flagship store, but the sign reaches out directly to local customers. With the rising steam evoking images of food being freshly cooked, the sign and its handwritten description of the meal of the day act as a warm invitation to passersby to come inside.

We used illustrations by Hiroki Taniguchi to present a comprehensive depiction of the opening of MUJI GINZA, treating it as the relocation of the global flagship store from Yurakucho to Ginza. The detailed store layout also stimulates interest in the newly opened MUJI HOTEL. The illustrations are used widely in digital signage on trains and web banner ads. Promotion focusing on key MUJI products is being rolled out mainly through ads on trains, buses, and other transportation systems and signage.

https://shop.muji.com/jp/ginza/en/

Chinese painting attained an unprecedented level of maturity during the Northern Song period, with one of the foremost works being Li Gonglin's depiction of five horses. Treasured by successive imperial dynasties, this masterpiece was thought lost following the abdication of the Qing emperor, but has recently re-emerged.

Hara Design Institute provided meticulous production design and art direction for this book, which presents Li Gonglin's painting in its entirety at actual size.

http://www.hatorishoten-articles.com/fivehorses.html