Adaptive innovations
A pencil holder for the visually-impaired is among the inventions from the Kokuyo Design Award, writes Kasmiah Mustapha
TAKUMA Yamazaki has redefined stationery as not only a writing instrument but also a musical tool through his award-winning creation, the Sound of Drawing. The designer’s invention — a pencil holder — amplifies the faint noises created by the friction between pencil and paper. It represents a universally inclusive writing tool even for the visually impaired.
“Drawing is simple for the sighted, but for those who are visually impaired, it is almost impossible. I wanted to go beyond the boundaries of creating only for the sighted. I wanted to create a product that would be inclusive of everyone, especially the visually impaired.
“The sound of drawing is enjoyable not only as a visual sensation, but also as a musical instrument, going beyond the traditional interpretation of regular stationery. It offers a fresh creative experience for both people who are sighted and those who are not.”
Yamazaki’s creation won the Kokuyo Design Award 2018 grand prize. The designer, who plans to set up his own design agency in the future, took home JPY2 million (RM75,000) in prize money.
The Kokoyu Design Award 2018 was held in Tokyo recently and 10 finalists presented their work to judges and an elite audience. Three finalists won the merit award which offered JPY500,000 (RM18,000).
For the first time, a team of designers from India won the merit award in the competition with their entry Palletballet. The Soch team made up of Athul Dinesh, Ghufran Ahmed and Pranav Kishore Bidwe submitted their creation, a painting kit made from wood.
Inspired by the craftsmanship of traditional wooden toys in the village of Channapatna in India, the team designed the colourful painting kit that mimics the shape of toys as a means to encourage children who are involved in art to express themselves.
The idea is for children to freely move and utilise the palletballet to draw, paint and express themselves freely and be uninhibited, beyond the normal boundaries that often exist as adults.
SMART INVENTION
After submitting his creations for over five years, Akihiro Toyofuku finally won the merit award for his invention — the Smart Double Clip. The double clip has the same triangular shape as the corner of a piece of paper, which allows pages to be turned smoothly.
“I came up with the idea as I found the traditional double clip stifling. It is always a hassle when it comes to flipping pages. I decided that a 23-degree angle might work better, at a scaled down version of a double clip.
“I also managed to get a factory in Osaka to produce this after tinkering with the design for about two months. While it is a simple idea, it goes beyond the norm as it helps improve the lives of those who use it by making it easier to flip pages when perusing through documents,” says Toyofuku, an interior designer.
The final merit award went to electronics product designer Kunihiko Nakata who came up with the Monochrome Notebook. The grey notebook allows people to write with both black and white pens.
Nakata’s notebook utilises the nature of human eyesight, in which letters in bright and dark colours on paper cannot be easily read at the same time. “When someone reads a series of black letters and then switches to white letters, they have to change visual channels. By using two different colours, you can concentrate on one colour at a time when reading.
“Our eyes tend to focus and concentrate more when we have less colours popping up at us. By using just two different colours such as white and black, you can then concentrate on one colour at a time while reading — making it useful even when studying,” says the 33-year old.
The Kokuyo Design Award 2018 garnered 1,289 entries from Japan and around the world with the theme “Beyond Boundaries.” Of that, 25 entries were from Malaysian designers.
Kokuyo Design Award director Takeshi Fujiki says since the introduction of the design award in 2002, it has garnered global interest with at least 40 per cent of submissions from outside Japan.
“Of that, 25 entries were received from designers in Malaysia for the 2018 award, as compared to just three submissions in 2017. We are seeing a growing interest from the global community and we encourage as many people to submit their interpretation of the design theme,” says Fujiki.
Kokuyo Co. Ltd is a Japanese company that creates innovative and high quality stationery and furniture. The company initiated the design award that is open to designers and talents globally to create functional and elegant lifestyle products that would have mass appeal.