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Design and happiness is closely related

Demystifying the “Japanese-ness” of KonMari method

Demystifying the “Japanese-ness” of KonMari method Marie Kondo’s “katazuke” (tidying-up) method that encourages people to keep items that only “spark ...
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Chapter 4-3: Absence in business – Nissin Cupnoodles Museum

In the previous post, we reviewed how absence stirs our internal potential such as the ability to hear, memorize or ...
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Chapter 2-4: Effect of subtraction on your satisfaction

What does subtraction really do to us? Imagine the situation where you receive satisfaction from an external stimulus. In this ...
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Chapter 2-8: Sparking joy by subtracion – decluttering and minimalists

There is also an emerging movement of “decluttering” and pursuing a minimalist lifestyle, which is a pretty radical form of ...
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Happiness through the lens of Minimalists

Can we become happier and freer by giving up our belongings?  As counter-intuitive as it sounds, minimalists claim we definitely ...
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Paleo Diet: why does the Stone Age matter?

It’s a bit mesmerizing trying to imagine what our hunter-gatherer ancestors were eating thousands or tens of thousands years ago, ...
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The Zen of Minimalism: How Minimal Design is a Catalyst for Happiness

The Zen of Minimalism: How Minimal Design is a Catalyst for Happiness While the life style trend to become a ...
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Where would millennials live when they go minimal?

Millennials have different views on consumption.  Growing up in a recession and burdened with big student debt, they have less ...
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How much is sufficient? “80% Full Product” by MUJI

Zero> Zero architecture and design> Zero design> MUJI After devastating 3.11.2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsumami that washed away modern architecture, ...
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Tune-up your senses at optimal level through decluttering

Marie Kondo, the author of “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up,” tells us to keep belongings that give us joy ...
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Kenya Hara, Japanese “emptiness” aesthetics guru, on decluttering (2)

Kenya Hara, Japanese "emptiness" aesthetics guru, on decluttering (2) What about a life without material overload at home? Hara says ...
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White products photo gallery

White products photo gallery ...
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Japanese design and architecture through the lens of Zen minimalism

Japanese design and architecture through the lens of Zen minimalism Design and architecture touches everyone’s life, reflecting our collective relationship ...
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Furoshiki & Tenugui: Life-sized origami lifehack

Furoshiki & Tenugui: Life-sized origami lifehack Ultimate versatility and multi-functionality can come from a product that has the simplest form ...
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Kenya Hara, Japanese “emptiness” aesthetics guru, on decluttering

Kenya Hara, Japanese "emptiness" aesthetics guru, on decluttering As the Netflix show Tidying Up with Marie Kondo has been attracting ...
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Less is more – Minimalist Design Online Gallery

"Less is more" - minimalist design photo gallery ...
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TAKEO Paper Show: SUBTLE

TAKEO Paper Show “SUBTLE” was originally held in 2014 in Japan as part of the exhibition series that has been ...
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Takeo Paper Show: Kenya Hara – Packaging for Pierre Herme’s “Ispahan”

Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, who often uses paper as an architectural material, describes the beauty of paper as “frozen liquidity.” ...
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Butterfly Stool by Sori Yanagi: 60th Anniversary Exhibition

The iconic Butterfly Stool designed by Sori Yanagi (1915 – 2011), which is part of the permanent collections of both ...
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Consciously small: MUJI Toothbrush

Consciously small: MUJI toothbrush Our mouths are small. Our teeth are small. Yet most toothbrushes are made big. You may ...
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Chapter 3-3: Small is engaging – MUJI toothbrush stand

MUJI's toothbrush stand Bonsai forms a bridge between humans and the vastness of nature using the power of smallness – ...
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Chapter 3-5: MUJI House – Edit your own life style

In the previous post, we reviewed the Tai-an, a 3.6 square-meters rustic tea hut (chashitsu) designed by Sen no Rikyu ...
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Chapter 4: Abundance by absence

In Chapter 1-3, we discussed the "power of zero" and its manifestation through the act of "subtraction (Chapter 2)" and ...
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Tadao Ando: A wild beast that refuses to be tamed

Tadao Ando: A wild beast that refuses to be tamed Top image: The Koshino residence designed by Tadao Ando in ...
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Church of the Light by Tadao Ando

Church of the Light designed by Tadao Ando Tadao Ando's "Endeavor" (Sep 27 -Dec 18, 2017), is a large-scale, special ...
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Chapter 4-3: Absence in business – Nissin Cupnoodles Museum

In the previous post, we reviewed how absence stirs our internal potential such as the ability to hear, memorize or ...
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The Japanese House Chapter 4: House is a work of art

The Japanese House Chapter 4: House is a work of art “A House is a work of art.” It is ...
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The Japanese House Chapter 5: From closed to open

The Japanese House Chapter 5: From closed to open In Chapter 4: "A House is a work of art," the ...
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Zen minimalism in modern design: catalyst for happiness (1)

You may have observed several key elements that constitute Japanese aesthetics from the pictures in the previous post, but in ...
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MUJI capped gel-ink ballpoint pen

MUJI gel ink ball-point pen "Simple design" for stationery supplies can get tricky, because simplification - or rather streamlining - ...
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MUJI solar cooking scale – inspiring everyday product

MUJI solar cooking scale We subconsciously categorize products we purchase into two groups: cool or nice-looking products we want to ...
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“Simplify!” Steve Jobs’ relentless quest for Zen design

It is well known that Steve Jobs practiced Zen. It influenced his design philosophy and is reflected in Apple's minimalist, ...
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MUJI Passive house

MUJI House is a passive house designed for optimal indoor comfort We use energy in the home to keep the ...
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MUJI “Wood House” model home in Kanagawa, Japan

MUJI "Wood House" model home in Kanagawa, Japan The “Tiny house” is going mainstream.  That was one of the main ...
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Katsura Imperial Villa (Katsura Rikyu)

Katsura Rikyu (Katsura Imperial Villa) is often considered as the culmination of Japanese traditional architecture.  It was built as a ...
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The MOMAT Exhibition: The Japanese House – Architecture and Life after 1945 –

If you are interested in Japanese architecture, design or aesthetics, you should check out the landmark exhibition  “The Japanese House: ...
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Dwell on design 2017: Small is beautiful

It seems like tiny house is no longer a fad.  At Dwell on design 2017, tiny spaces were everywhere. And ...
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The Zen of Minimalism: How Minimal Design is a Catalyst for Happiness

The Zen of Minimalism: How Minimal Design is a Catalyst for Happiness While the life style trend to become a ...
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MUJI Hut: tiny house dissolving into the environment

MUJI Hut: tiny house dissolving into the environment In the previous article, I identified “small,” “agile,” ”mobile,” and ”temporary” as ...
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Yoshino Cedar House x Airbnb: True sharing enabled by “people”

Yoshino Cedar House is a partnership between Airbnb and Yoshino Town, Nara, Japan. Yoshino is famous for the Yoshino sugi ...
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MUJI Oak Bench: Minimalist, agile and versatile

MUJI Oak Bench: Minimalist, agile and versatile Our daily life is supported by many single-purpose products.  The bed is for ...
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Discover the aesthetics of “less is more”

Slowly, but steadily, the idea of “less is more” is spreading.  The magic of tidying-up and decluttering is gaining momentum ...
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Kenya Hara and the aesthetics of “emptiness”

Japanese design is often associated with the simple and minimal. Top left: The Butterfly Stool by Sori Yanagi, Top Right: ...
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Discover the magic of smallness: MUJI’s toothbrush stand

Discover the magic of smallness: MUJI's toothbrush stand There is something arresting about MUJI’s porcelain toothbrush stand.  Even though, or ...
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Kare-sansui (Japanese Zen rock garden): ultimate beauty of absence

Gardens have been an essential part of every civilization. From the “Hanging Gardens of Babylon” to Singapore’s “Garden by the ...
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Japanese minimalist design and the influence of traditional Zen art

Japanese minimalist design and the influence of traditional Zen art Minimalism is often associated with Japanese traditional Zen-style design.  Zen ...
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Re-defining the future of living: House Vision 2016

House Vision is an exhibition/forum, created in Japan in 2013, to “re-define urban living,” as a central and most advanced ...
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Anonymous is beautiful: “The Profiles of Design” by Naoto Fukasawa

Naoto Fukasawa is a highly acclaimed Japanese industrial designer who designed many iconic products, including household items for MUJI.  A ...
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Why is MUJI’s minimalist design called Zen?

Why is MUJI called Zen design?  MUJI, founded in Japan in 1980, offers a wide variety of quality products including ...
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Zero = abundance is your online resource to re-define “happiness” by exploring the potential of “less is more” by leveraging Japanese Zen aesthetics.

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