NEWS | HARA DESIGN INSTITUTE

May 23, 2023

Design for the entrance to Nakashima Propeller’s new office building

We designed the entrance for the new office building of marine propeller manufacturer Nakashima Propeller Co., Ltd.

The two blades from a giant propeller that stand in the entrance were made using 3D printing, which has the potential to become the main method for propeller manufacturing. Installing full-sized propeller blades demonstrates their precise curved structure in a straightforward way.

The functional nature of the propeller's beauty is clearly conveyed on the wall, using commentary and a diagram to explain formulas and technology utilized in propeller manufacture.

AD: Kenya Hara
Architect: Takumi Muraoka
D: Hiroyuki Sato, Yuina Suzuki
Ph: Takashi Sekiguchi*
Pr: Yoshifumi Nabeta
Cl: Nakashima Propeller Co.,Ltd
* Outsourced

May 02, 2023

GINZA SIX 6th Anniversary

We created the graphics for the sales campaign for the sixth anniversary of the opening of GINZA SIX.

Colorful, intertwining lines form the number six in artwork created by Kengo Kito exhibited near the first-floor entrance.

GSIX 6th Anniversary
April 1 - May 7, 2023

AD: Kenya Hara
D: Kenya Hara, Tomoko Nishi, Hana Yazaki
Ph: Riko Okaniwa
Pr: Haru Matsunaga
Cl: GINZA SIX Retail Management Co., Ltd.

Apr 21, 2023

SIMOSE merchandise product development

We have created original merchandise, focusing on the charm and appeal of the art museum, villas, and restaurant as seen from different perspectives.

They are items that allow people to add understated color to their daily lives following their visit to the museum, such as distinctive objets called Gallé fragments which reproduce the glass technique of the craftsman Émile Gallé, whose works account for one of the art museum's main collections, crayons inspired by the coastal and forest landscape viewed from the villas, and slices of the paper tubes used as building material in the interiors of the villas.

All of the merchandise is sold at the art museum shop, where the fixtures are also designed in a distinctive way so as to fit in within the architectural space. When visiting SIMOSE, make a point of checking out the shop, as well.

AD: Kenya Hara
D: Hana Yazaki
C: Karen Asai

Apr 21, 2023

Simose Art Museum’s opening exhibition Hina Dolls and Modern Art

The Simose Art Museum in SIMOSE opened on March 1, 2023. Hara Design Institute handled the design of the main visuals and various tools as well as the overall curation of exhibits and production of exhibit captions for the opening exhibition Hina Dolls and Modern Art, which unveils the museum's collection.

Placing a hina doll, the gem of the exhibited works, front and center, with the art museum's entrance hall and its giant tree-like pillars with branches extending outwards in the background, the visuals announcing the opening conveyed the unique experience that can be had at the Simose Art Museum, where visitors can view traditional kogei craftworks within the contemporary architecture.

AD: Kenya Hara
D: Kenya Hara, Kaoru Matsuno, Hana Yazaki, Megumi Ohno, Wataru Sato, Weizheng Liu
C: Karen Asai
Ph: Takashi Sekiguchi*
Pr: Jieun Kim
* Outsourced

Apr 21, 2023

SIMOSE signage

We produced all the signs that guide and direct visitors at the multipurpose complex SIMOSE. Our "ant signs," black circles from which extend long, thin legs, clearly organize and inform, conveying different information keyed to the level at which the circle is positioned, while blending into the landscape as if they were part of nature. They create a sense of anticipation as you wander around the spacious grounds.

If you visit the facilities, please take note of the signage.

AD: Kenya Hara
D: Kenya Hara, Tomomi Kitamura, Hana Yazaki, Weizheng Liu

Apr 21, 2023

Total concept for SIMOSE

A complex called SIMOSE, incorporating an art museum, villas, and a restaurant, has been created in Otake City, Hiroshima Prefecture, on the coast looking out onto Miyajima Island on the opposite side of the channel. Beginning with the creation of the concept for the entire complex, Hara Design Institute handled all tools used in creating brand identity, including visual identity, graphics, fixtures and equipment, restaurant menu, and website. Shigeru Ban designed all of the architecture for the complex.

SIMOSE allows you to spend time that is pleasant and serene, enjoying being in a space like no other in the world that blends in with surrounding nature, walking around while appreciating paintings and kogei craftwork, staying in contact with nature, and savoring the joys of the local area. Come and experience it for yourself.

AD: Kenya Hara
D: Kenya Hara, Kaoru Matsuno, Hana Yazaki, Megumi Ohno, Asaki Hoshino,
Weizheng Liu, Tomomi Kitamura, Dai Yongqiang, Wataru Sato
C: Karen Asai
Web: Xin Zhong, Hiroshi Hosokawa
Ph: Takashi Sekiguchi*
Pr: Yoshifumi Nabeta, Jieun Kim
* Outsourced

Apr 17, 2023

ISE ONE—Ise City’s online shopping portal

ISE ONE is a website providing a map of Ise City in Mie Prefecture that users can use to find shops that also offer online shopping. Hara Design Institute handled everything from project proposals to providing functional design and UI design.

Items on sale range from delicious food like famous confections and local cuisine and specialties to products rooted in the local culture and customs, such as votive objects for Shinto home shrines, pearls, and traditional craftwork. Over one hundred stores have been classified by category and indicated on a map using pictograms, making it clear where each type of store is located.

When accessed from within the city, the website uses the user's location to provide information about nearby stores and tourist spots. The website creates opportunities for discovering and experiencing appealing aspects of Ise that are not well known, either locally or from the comfort of your own home.

The site can be browsed using the following link.
Website: https://www.ise-one.jp/

AD: Kenya Hara
D: Xin Zhong, Hiroshi Hosokawa, Yuina Suzuki, Muying Sun
C: Karen Asai
P: Rui Hosokawa, Shimei Nakatogawa*
Web: version zero dot nine*
Pr: Satoshi Muraki, Haru Matsunaga
Cl: Ise City, Ise City Tourism Association
* Outsourced

Apr 01, 2023

Solo exhibition Make the Future Better Than Today

Kenya Hara was chosen as the recipient of the Jan Lenica Award for 2020, a prize established by the National Museum in Poznań in Poland. In commemoration of Hara receiving the award, the museum is holding a solo exhibition by Hara entitled Make the Future Better Than Today.

The exhibition is a retrospective covering the main elements of Hara's work from the beginning of the 1990s to the present day. It includes his early poster projects, many of his art direction projects associated with MUJI, and records of exhibitions that he has curated, along with book design, package design, and other works.

Exhibits also include a new poster series called FUZZY created expressly for this exhibition. Hara explains that the many strange faces in his drawings for the new posters are like angry messages for today's world, emerging from deep in his heart. Their three-dimensional rendering and subtle movements create a silent conversation with the viewer.

Make the Future Better Than Today
Dates: March 24 - July 30, 2023
Venue: National Museum in Poznań (Aleje Marcinkowskiego 9, 61-745 Poznań, Poland)
Website: https://mnp.art.pl/en

AD: Kenya Hara
D: Yukie Inoue, Kaoru Matsuno, Tomomi Kitamura, Koyuki Inagaki, Wataru Sato, Hiroshi Hosokawa, Yuina suzuki, Muying Sun
Yukiyo Nemoto, Angsuya Kunchaethong, Haruna Furusato, Megumi Ohno
Interaction Design: WOW*, Hiroshi Hosokawa, Muying Sun
3D Modeling: Kenichi Hasimoto*
Technical Illustration: Yoshitaka Mizutani*
Photography: Sonia Bober*, Muzeum Narodowe w Poznaniu, Takashi Sekiguchi*
Retoucher: Keita Koizumi*
Publicity / Management: Kanae Hasegawa, Jieun Kim
Pr: Yoshifumi Nabeta
Courtesy: Muzeum Narodowe w Poznaniu
* Outsourced

Feb 10, 2023

Buyers club event selling artworks by Hiroki Taniguchi

Works by the late Hiroki Taniguchi will be gathered together and sold at this event.

We are holding a buyers club event for works by Hiroki Taniguchi at POLYLOGUE on the 13th floor of Nippon Design Center. Works on canvas are not framed, and are displayed as is. The event is being held for people who value the art of Hiroki Taniguchi in order to give them a chance to own original works by the artist. We encourage you to take this opportunity to gain an overview of the magnificent art of Hiroki Taniguchi, and to take home a part of its essence.
--Kenya Hara

Dates: February 21 - 28, 2023
Hours: 11:00 - 18:00 (until 16:00 on the last day)

All exhibited works are available to be purchased by credit card (no cash), on a first-come-first-served basis. Works can be taken home on the spot. Shipment with payment on delivery is also an option. The venue is POLYLOGUE on the 13th floor of Nippon Design Center.

https://www.ndc.co.jp/about/access/

Jan 31, 2023

MUJI Warm Innerwear promotion

We created the visuals and video announcing Warm Innerwear, functional winter underwear made of cotton that absorbs moisture and generates heat. Warm Innerwear is branded Attaka-men in the Japanese market.

T-shirts and other innerwear items are depicted with a gradation of warm colors in order to evoke the natural warmth that gradually spreads throughout the body when using natural material. We gave it clear symbolism that conveys the impression, name, and launch of Warm Innerwear products in 0.1 seconds. We also created a movie in which the items of clothing move in a delightful way. These were shown on the web and social networks, as well as in digital signage on trains and on six screens at Shibuya Crossing in front of the train station.

Warm Innerwear comes in three levels of warmth and a variety of designs. As we gauge the degree to which brand awareness has spread, we are creating and publishing videos that share with customers the appeal of different Warm Innerwear products.

AD: Kenya Hara
D: Kenya Hara, Yukiyo Nemoto
Movie: OTAMIRAMS*, Muying Sun
C: Karen Asai
Pr: Satoshi Muraki
*Outsourced