Visualize & Awaken: A Talk by Kenya Hara

Talk and slide presentation in conjunction with Designthinkers 2016

Designer, Kenya Hara (b.1958) emphasizes the design of both objects and experiences.

In 2000, he produced the exhibition RE-DESIGN–Daily Products of the 21st Century, which successfully presented the fact that the resources of astonishing design are found in the context of the very ordinary and casual. In 2002, Hara became a member of MUJI’s advisory board and began acting as its art director. In 2004, he planned and directed the exhibition HAPTIC – Awakening the Senses revealing to the audience that great resources of design are dormant in the human senses. Much of his work, including the programs for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Nagano Winter Olympic Games and Expo 2005 is deeply rooted in Japanese culture. In 2007 and 2009, he produced two exhibitions titled TOKYO FIBER — SENSEWARE in Paris, Milan and Tokyo, and from 2008 through 2009, the exhibition JAPAN CAR in Paris and at the Science Museum in London. Hara’s focus in these kinds of exhibitions is on visualizing and widely disseminating the potentiality of industry. The radius of his activity has been expanding to the rest of Asia as well, including the traveling exhibition DESIGNING DESIGN Kenya Hara 2011 China Exhibition that starts in Beijing in 2011. Several books authored by Hara, including Designing Design and White, have been translated into a number of languages, including other Asian languages.

President, the Nippon Design Center Inc.
Professor at Musashino Art University
President, Japan Design Committee Co., Ltd.
Vice President, Japan Graphic Designers Association Inc.

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