Hasta La Gadget!

The winning designs from the Japan Package Design Awards 2011 have been on display to the public in the upmarket Matsuya department store in Ginza. Ranging from minimal and clean, to retro and functional, the display showcased the best of Japan’s designers. Running since 1985 the contest judges around 1,000 entries for the competition, with the judges evaluating design based on core topics of; aesthetics, manufacturing, physical distribution and environmental impact.

Looking straight out of the 60s the retro, classic design of the yoghurt from Meiji above, won a Gold Award, aimed at appealing to children and evoking a wholesome Japanese family brand. Whilst we loved the simple beauty of the Japanese confectionary packaging below which picked up a Judges Favorite.

Packaging is an extension of the product in Japan and focus has always been as heavily placed on the design of what the item is contained in as the product itself. Often with numerous layers encasing small items it can come across as unnecessary when we look at them from today’s attitude’s towards waste. However the intricacies and beauty of the packaging greatly enhance the brand as they can be as visually pleasing as they are often practical in their design. From complicated folding patterns that open in a certain way reveling an encased sweet, to form that reflects the contents of the package itself, Japanese packaging has what designer Kenji Ekuan has termed “furoshikibility“. A Japanese design principle, this means, “inventing various modifications of a simple tool or technique in order to adapt it for as many different forms of usage as possible – complexity created by simplicity or ‘complex simpleness.’”

Another retro theme the chocolate packaging below was awarded a Bronze Award, and the “Soysh” sparkling soy drink, although not sounding particularly delicious in description, is a beautiful example of clean, smooth lines making an appealing product and was a Judge’s Favorite. The other product below from Gatsby is a hairwax and was awarded the Golden Award, with clear functionality and playful colors in a modern design.

The portable dispenser from Ajinomoto which was awarded the Gold Award is designed to be attached to a mobile phone or keychain and with the panda image really is a particularly Japanese designed product! Whilst Elecom’s headphones picked up a Silver Award with the packages playful colors.

In the drinks section there were more old school designs with this Ultraman designed soda can picking up the Bronze Award, and the classic bottle of cider awarded a Judges Favorite. The Silver Award to the colorful, yet subtle bottle of Sake with a very traditionally designed bag.

Shiseido picked up a SIlver Award with an intricately designed rose motif compact mirror in a wooden case, reflecting the brand’s more luxurious side. The bars of soap from Pola, designed around a modern, traditional Japan with warm colors and origami like folds along the packaging, were awarded a Golden Award.

The Grand Prix prize however was awarded to “Zenkashoin”, a pastry store in Kyoto shown below. A fantastic example of the “complex simplicity” the designs capture the essence of the brand and its traditional roots.

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