Under the Sign of the Circle: Red Dot awarded Design Innovations from Japan

“Under the Sign of the Circle”: This is the title of an exhibition about Red Dot awarded design innovations from Japan which the Red Dot Design Museum Essen in Germany presents from 25 November 2016 until 19 March 2017. The insular state ranks among the key nations in industrial and product design. This is based on the country’s industry which is a pioneer in Asia regarding the efforts to utilise design for the identity of companies and their products.

Using around 100 exhibits as an example, the exhibition shows that Japanese designers are on the one hand oriented towards Western stylistic directions such as Bauhaus and functionalism in their work. On the other hand, they also draw on the tradition of their form-accentuated culture – be it the drive for reduction or proportion theory seeking for harmony. Visitors experience products which were awarded with the Red Dot for good design, among them are for example furniture, tableware and lamps.

Since cast parts of the Japanese economy are very technology-oriented, the exhibition pays special attention to technological innovations for which Japan is best known. For instance, global players such as Canon, Fujifilm, Mazda, Nikon, Olympus, Panasonic, Sony or Yamaha are featured in the exhibition. With the aid of their elaborately designed products from the fields of consumer electronics, cameras, life science and vehicles, it is illustrated how Japan’s designers cope with the difficult task of translating technological achievements into marketable and most of all successful products. Design solutions from Japan convince with their accomplished symbiosis of high-tech and usage-based design – in the Red Dot Design Award as well as users around the globe.

On Sunday, 12 February 2017, the curator grants insights into the origin story of the presentation during a public guided tour of the special exhibition.

» Download exhibition brochure (PDF)