The future from a designer’s perspective with Jin Kuramoto
2020-06-04
Our designers are up to date on upcoming trends and one step ahead in designing furniture. Offecct has therefore sent five questions to three of our designers to get their views on the future and what lays ahead. Following is Japanese designer Jin Kuramoto’s thoughts on how the latest situation will change the way we live.
What future challenges do designers face?
Until now, the world has considered economic growth expressed in terms of GDP as social development, but now it is time to pay attention to the quality of life. It has nothing to do with economic growth, but to feel the richness of individual lives. Designers should play a part in spreading this new perspective to the world.
How is design affected and how should we act in the ongoing global collapse and environmental debate?
After the Industrial Revolution, the role of designers was born at the beginning of mass production, and ideas and concepts were spread through products distributed to many people. Because it is a mass-production activity, the impact on nature and society is also enormous. If we can feel and image that all of us are part of the symbiosis of society and nature, many people will confront social issues with their specialties, which will be a big movement. I believe that the power of design can help people to have a concrete image for a sustainable world…
In what direction will the next generation be, in terms of behaviors that will influence the design of the future?
How do designers look and act on new trends, and where are you at?
I think there is a combined answer to these two questions.
Our thinking is greatly influenced by the natural environment, culture, society, and religious currents. It’s like putting ourselves in the flow of a big river, and it’s a powerful force that’s hard to resist. We have no choice but to keep our sensors sensitive, feel natural movement with our bodies, cooperate with each other in a positive way, and gradually change the direction in the current. A trend is like this big current, and if you live carefully, it will accumulate in your body little by little unconsciously in your daily life.
Today, social trends are starting to become skeptical of the ever-expanding human for-profit movement. They are looking away from physical material satisfaction and towards spiritual richness. It may seem retrogressive in the past, but the role of alarms in swapping perspectives is what designers should do. Whether a diamond is valuable or not depends on our perspective.
For Offecct, Jin has designed the Maki easy chair, Wind table and Wind room divider.