Japan Industrial Design Promotion Organization

DESIGN NEWS 252

('01.12.10)

Feature Design Review 1989-2000

A-POC Wins the Grand Prix!
Good Design Awards 2000-2001

Design that has Transformed Manufacturers: Nokia and the Nokia 2110

Ross Goes to London (3)

In contrast to the 1980s, when the emphasis was placed on the allure and symbolic features of products, the 1990s in the field of Japanese industrial design were characterized by an emphasis on rationalism and function in the atmosphere of mega competition that followed on from the collapse of the "bubble" economy.
On the expressive level, an important feature is that designs based on the ideas of skeletons and transparency became common in a variety of product fields in addition to IT equipment and household appliances. Also, the demand among consumers for ever lower prices meant that designers became increasingly concerned with costs and the need to shorten delivery dates.
The second half of the 1990s was a period that saw considerable progress in the development of Internet and IT-related equipment. A major shift in the field of design during this period occurred away from design centered on the traditional idea of visual form in the direction of design of interfaces that are simple both to use and to understand (GUI, etc.) and interactive points of contact between machines and their users. The main topics of concern have now become barrier-free, universal design and ecological production.
In this issue of the magazine, we have compiled a feature under the title of "Design Review 1989-2000" in order to clarify the total field of Japanese industrial design during the 1990s.

"Things were backward in those days. After the recession of the early 1990s, today's growth of urban centers for mobile phone use in cities such as New York, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin and Dublin had barely, begun. Similarly, today's boom in transport environments for mobile phone use high-speed trains in Europe, airports everywhere had also barely begun. As an Englishman on holiday in Italy, you did not meet German tourists making mobile calls home. Even in Japan, things looked bleak. It was only in April 1993 that a ban on consumer purchases of handsets was lifted. Small, cheap, low-power digital Personal Handyphone Systems had not been launched.
Into this uncertain climate, Nokia took a bold step. It launched the Nokia 2110, a mobile phone that became an icon for design within the company, and almost an industry standard in terms of its overall approach to the man-machine interface."
Today, Nokia has a 30% share of the global market for mobile telephones; the company grew rapidly to achieve sales last year of 75 million units. It was the Nokia 2110, launched during the early 1990s, that was the key model in underpinning this growth.
In this report, the London-based journalist James Woudhuysen discusses the qualitative breakthrough in design achieved by the Nokia 2110 and the role played by this company.

Ross McBride is a designer maker based in Tokyo who is interested in "being able to execute designs entirely under my own judgment."
After launching the "Normal" brand and developing a wide range of designs, he applied to submit his work for display at the "100% Design" International Design Exhibition. While coming up against difficulties getting hold of funds and experiencing delays in product development, he finally gained the opportunity to exhibit his work at Earl's Court in London in October.
"100% Design" has given many designers the opportunity to make their international debuts, and it is interesting to see what reception the products in the "Normal" range received.
Noriko Kawakami, the freelance writer, went to see the "100% Design" exhibition and in this report takes a look at how Ross McBride is working hard to enhance his reputation as a designer maker.