Hasta La Gadget!

Japan has a remarkable way of taking everyday products from pet food to coffee, applying an extra layer of thought and attention to detail, and creating extraordinary experiences in product design. We recently stumbled upon a beautiful line of fireworks that are so colorful and well-made that, frankly, it’s a damn shame to light them on fire.

The Japanese approach to fireworks (or hanabi) in general is rather different from what I grew up with. For me, fireworks (purchased in Indiana for maximum TNT), were always about power expressed in screeches and booms. Modern Japanese consumer fireworks, likely due to regulations, are primarily sparklers and fountains, making the focus on beauty over explosions. Unlike most of the U.S., small fireworks are available just about anywhere in Japan. Now, thanks to a new collaboration, they’re now for sale in design-oriented shops as well.

Produced by Tokyo’s classic fireworks maker Yamagata, these sparklers and assorted small fireworks are top quality and certainly invoke nostalgia, but it’s the additional coloring and concept by design firm Method that makes them truly unique.

The logo, packaging, POP, and art direction was done by EDING:POST, the firm behind the aforementioned Omotesando Koffee.

Of course, fireworks with this amount of work put into them don’t come cheap. Sparklers range from around $7 for five large ones, and the traditional Japanese senko hanabi (shown in the last image) are over $30 for a full, beautifully made package.

Each stick is perfectly colored in pastel combinations, and brought together in a simple, minimalist paper package. None of the loud design and plastic that accompanies fireworks from convenience stores. These are fireworks, according to the shop staff, that are “for adults”. Let the kids stay inside with their fireworks projector.

We found these at the Roppongi Hills Art & Design Store, which graciously tolerated our photography, a rare luxury in these types of shops most of the time.

The products and their homepage is brand new and not quite finished, but you can find them online at enjoyfireworks.com.

It’s this attention to detail for everyday items, not manga or other “cool Japan” icons, that separates Japan in a globalized world. Applied across all industries, design that creates experiences for people, even in small ways, is where we should all be striving. Even if we blow it up in the end.

It is estimated that around 90,000 people are still living in temporary shelters in Japan as a result of the disasters that occurred on March 11th. In response to this Japanese design company Atelier Opa have turned their skills towards what they can do to help out those affected, and produced a simple but fantastic temporary shelter design open for anyone to replicate.

The cardboard shelters look something similar to a child’s playhouse and are designed to offer a little privacy and comfort to those still living in the cramped conditions in the communal shelters at present. The cardboard can be assembled easily by anyone and even decorated by those with children, which could provide a nice creative outlet in a situation where many have been adversely affected by the tsunami and its aftermath.

With the majority of shelters located in school gymnasiums or public halls, the facilities really offer very little in terms of privacy or seclusion where evacuees can escape to try and relax in as best a way as is possible. Atelier Opa’s designs have been created not just to provide spaces for people to sleep in but partitions to create study areas and even clothes hanging areas. With many still unsure as to when they can move out of the communal areas right now and into relief housing, providing at least a semblance of having a personal space and designated spaces for specific functions is particularly important.

What is really impressive about the project is that the company also made all the plans for the designs available publicly under Creative Commons license so that any group of volunteers or charity organizations can replicate them. Recently a large number of volunteers from Kogakuin University in Tokyo went up to the affected areas, provided and erected the shelters in a number of different areas. The same designs could now as easily be implemented for homeless or other displaced people throughout the world.

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Google+ looks… a little different. Almost as if it didn’t even come from Google. And those drag-and-drop circles? Luscious. Turns out, there’s a reason for everything, and he goes by Andy Hertzfeld. According to an investigative piece put up by Wired, Andy’s actually credited as being the “original Mac guy,” responsible for software and user interface design while working for Apple between 1979 and 1984. He picked up a new role at Goog in 2005, but according to the report, “he had previously felt constrained because its design standards didn’t allow for individual creativity.” That all changed with Emerald Sea, a diddy that would eventually become known as the search giant’s most ambitious foray yet into the wide world of social networking. It’s bruited that Andy was given the freedom to go wild whilst designing Google+, and it shows — the interface throughout is about as intuitive as one could ever hope. ‘Course, it takes more than good design to seal a project, but there’s no doubt that this is one heck of a start. The rest of the story? Tucked away in that source link, just south of here.

Andy Hertzfeld, ‘former Macintosh wizard,’ designed the Google+ Project originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Jun 2011 10:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Earlier this year, Pioneer, known for its wide array of electronics ranging from car navigation systems to home theaters, opened a showcase plaza in a fascinating looking building located in the heart of Ginza, one of the more upscale, luxurious shopping districts in Japan. We took a trip to Ginza to find out the latest technology that Pioneer has to offer to the public. The shop’s tagline, “Wanna See The Future?” clearly demonstrates Pioneer’s aim at establishing the newest hi-tech product innovations aimed at enhancing consumers’ lifestyles. Rather than merely showcasing their newest technology, visitors are encouraged to fully experience and interact with the digital products on display.

The Pioneer Plaza is spread out over three floors, each dedicated to a specific theme. As we walked into the first floor, out of the vast lineup of home electronics, the first thing that immediately grasped our attention was the Sound Cocoon. With beautiful alternating color lighting and an extremely cozy sofa, this intimate egg-shaped sound enhancement space was designed to provide ultimate comfort and relaxation for its users. It uses Pioneer’s Acco built-in amp system that can play music from any portable audio device, as well as online radio. With three speakers placed in strategic locations inside the cocoon, the intention was for a “peaceful environment in which the music blended in with the air and embraced the user.”

Our eyes then led us to the Floating Vision, which is an AR hologram monitor that allows users to encounter a 3D experience with their naked eye. What was particularly cool about this product was that it used an infrared sensor that allowed users to interact with the various characters displayed on the screen, introducing a new type of user interface programming. The screen is surrounded by a sensor-embedded frame that extends out about 10cm. It’s possible to virtually touch and manipulate objects, draw pictures, and interact with characters inside the screen just by making the actions in the field of the sensors.

The Floating Vision was made for personal home entertainment allowing users to connect a computer to the unit through a USB cable which then turns the product into a second display, offering a variety of applications. With a downloadable software program called FV_Tool, users can easily create their own hologram display by using visual files of their choice. Going one step further from digital photo frames, the technology makes it possible to upload any personal photos which can then be displayed in holographic 3D and interacted with, such as poking the hologram would “frighten it” and cause it to duck.

Pioneer also integrated the use of Felica with this technology to provide visitors with information about the store and their newest products. Deviating from the existing Felica information providers that merely generate a sound when applied, this particular device offers users with a variety of 3D visuals, adding a little “extra touch.”

Although still in production and not yet for commercial use, the Cycling Computer, attachable to bicycles and other motor vehicles such as mopeds, uses its built-in GPS system to collaborate with Pioneer’s audio and navigation technology. Shaped like a smaller version of an iPhone, the Cycling Computer was not only intended for navigation purposes but for entertainment as well. With a unique sensor that calculates the speed and amount of revolution of the wheel, the user is notified of the distance that they have traveled, their heart rate, and how many calories have been burnt off. Music and animations are played accordingly to different speeds and cycling style. Pioneer is planning to release applications for this device as soon as it hits the market, which would enhance the users’ experience, such as a navigating app that displays the most scenic routes to their destination.

The rest of the 1st floor was decorated with a number of other products that demonstrated product innovations aimed at space conservation, such as an ultra thin speaker, and a new type of thin LED lighting device that further reduces the use of electricity and has features such as its ability to bend, making it easily adjustable to any sort of placement.

As we reached the second floor, we were greeted with a beautiful arrangement of earphones and headsets which visitors could plug into their own portable audio player and try on, each with a unique concept and feature.

The rest of the floor was dedicated to Pioneer’s Carrozzeria car navigation series, which fully utilizes AR as well as the idea of using smartphones as navigators. Its AR Scouter Mode uses a built in camera to display front and rear view images that provides drivers with route and road information onto the actual navigation screen. Landmarks like gasoline stations and convenient stores, distance between cars, directions, and other information are displayed in real time above the front view image, providing drivers with a much easily visible guidance. With the newest UI (user interface) technology it acts as an iPod and DVD player, television, and built-in bluetooth system. This touch-panel navigator has other cool features such as a voice command search system and an added “Eco Navigator” that takes displays a route in which the driver would use the least amount of gas, calculating the weight and size of the car.

With similar brand spaces such as Shiseido’s Total Beauty Facility, there seems to be a general move towards a more effective utilization of store space, deviating from the traditional shop-and-go stores seen throughout Japan. Brands are leaning towards a more interactive orientation by providing customers with product demonstrations and allowing them to fully experience their products and services themselves.

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