Design and happiness is closely related
Demystifying the “Japanese-ness” of KonMari method
Marie Kondo’s “katazuke” (tidying-up) method that encourages people to keep items that only “spark joy” – and let everything else ...
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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
While the life style trend to become a “minimalist” is relatively new, the word “minimalism” has been around for quite ...
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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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Japanese design and architecture through the lens of Zen minimalism
Design and architecture touches everyone’s life, reflecting our collective relationship with nature. Primitive design often replicated natural objects, but sleek, ...
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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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The beauty of decluttering according to Kenya Hara, Japanese “emptiness” aesthetics guru
As the Netflix show Tidying Up with Marie Kondo has been attracting millions of viewers, it seems like the society ...
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The beauty of decluttering according to Kenya Hara, Japanese “emptiness” aesthetics guru
As the Netflix show “Tidyng Up with Marie Kondo” has been attracting millions of viewers, it seems like the society ...
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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
Our mouths are small. Our teeth are small. Yet most toothbrushes are made big. You may say, “Mine is not ...
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Chapter 3-3: Small is engaging – MUJI toothbrush stand
Bonsai forms a bridge between humans and the vastness of nature using the power of smallness – the power to ...
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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
Top image: The Koshino residence designed by Tadao Ando in 1981. photo by Kazunori Fujimoto via CC BY-ND 2.0 Tadao ...
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Church of the Light by Tadao Ando
Tadao Ando's "Endeavor" (Sep 27 -Dec 18, 2017), is a large-scale, special exhibit celebrating the 10th anniversary of The National ...
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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
“A House is a work of art.” It is a famous declaration made by a maverick and legendary Japanese architect ...
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The Japanese House Chapter 5: From closed to open
In Chapter 4: "A House is a work of art," the exhibit "The Japanese House" reviewed Japan in the 60's ...
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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
"Simple design" for stationery supplies can get tricky, because simplification - or rather streamlining - is often applied to the ...
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MUJI solar cooking scale – inspiring everyday product
We subconsciously categorize products we purchase into two groups: cool or nice-looking products we want to display and show off, ...
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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
We use energy in the home to keep the indoor temperature comfortable: not too hot, not too cold, even if ...
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MUJI “Wood House” model home in Kanagawa, Japan
The “Tiny house” is going mainstream. That was one of the main themes at Dwell on Design 2017, held in ...
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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
While the life style trend to become a “minimalist” is relatively new, the word “minimalism” has been around for quite ...
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MUJI Hut: tiny house dissolving into the environment
In the previous article, I identified “small,” “agile,” ”mobile,” and ”temporary” as key aesthetics in next generation architecture. It is ...
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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
Our daily life is supported by many single-purpose products. The bed is for sleeping, the table is for eating or ...
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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
There is something arresting about MUJI’s porcelain toothbrush stand. Even though, or exactly because it’s so small, you are drawn ...
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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
Minimalism is often associated with Japanese traditional Zen-style design. Zen style arts and design focuses on eliminating any unnecessary frills ...
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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?
MUJI, founded in Japan in 1980, offers a wide variety of quality products including household goods, apparel and food. Due ...
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