Hi people! Sorry that I have been absent from IDAsia for quite some time. I was resting from my tooth extractions a couple of weeks ago and then things got really busy at work after that. So I hadn’t been able to find the time to post anything here. Sorry about that.
Anyway I have been looking into a lot buttons and interface designs to help me in a design project that I am currently working on. Many of my favorites came from works by Mr. Ichiro Iwasaki (岩崎　一郎)from Japan. So today I shall do a post on him and his design.
Mr. Ichiro Iwasaki, born in Tokyo in 1965, had working in Sony Design Centre from 1986 to 1991. In 1991, he moved to Italy and started working freelance. He returned to Japan and established Iwasaki Design Studio in 1995. He is now a lecturer at Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music and Tama Art University, also a committee member of Good Design Award, JAFCA Auto Color Award, etc.
Unfortunately, it isn’t easy to find images of his works that I can find in the internet to post them here. Here are the limited few that I had found.
audio 405 2000
mini component system
iF Design Award 2002
muTECH audio 405 2000
remote control
iF Design Award 2002
muTech audio 201 2000
remote control
muTech prototype 2000
music center
muTECH telephone 950 2001
answering machine and phone
But these pictures seriously do not show much and how skillful Mr. Ichiro Iwasaki’s design detailing skills are. If you are really interested in his designs, you should really check out them out in his Iwasaki Design Studio website here.
In addition, the following is a short writing that I have found in the book ‘Realising Design’ regarding Mr. Ichiro Iwasaki.
THE IMPORTANCE OF MAKING NEW MARKET
‘Sometimes I feel powerless and at other times I notice great possibilities in myself. The important thing is to keep thinking. The possibilities of realisation only emerge with thought.’ Iwasaki shows that it is possible to fulfill one’s design desires while working with a business corporation, and, as importantly, to keep thinking through each stage of the process.
‘Designers should not just follow trends. They should be aware that an important aspect of the designer’s role is to create new markets. Enough information can be gathered in daily life, if real thoughts is applied. The fascinating thing about designing is being able to quietly influence society and the environment through one’s products, although it is not often that one can feel that directly’, says Iwasaki.
Ichiro Iwasaki will keep making his quiet proposals to society, sometimes by striding forward, sometimes by standing still, i firmly believe that such steady steps as Iwasaki’s are crucial to designing.
[ Images taken from: g-mark.org, boo-hoo-woo.com and amazon.com ]
