Cute as a Statement
This lecture was moderated by Gento Matsumoto (Japan) who discusses "Kawaii" or
cute, with Tatsuhiko Akashi (Japan) and Nagi Noda (Japan). Gento Matsumoto
is a graphic designer who also designs some figures, puppets and even
games. This is why he met Tatsuhiko Akashi. Akashi is a toy designer
who has started his own company (Medicom Toy Corporation) which now has
as many as 30 employees. Nagi Noda is an art director and designer. She
directs many television commercials and advertisements, most notably
the beautiful and strange television campaign for Laforet.
The three speakers seem to have very different opinions about nearly
everything but they do agree on at least one thing: "cute" is
very nearly impossible to define and it can vary greatly according to
the statement the designer is trying to convey to the public. For example,
Akashi designs toys that are small and simply stylized because he wants
them to be comforting and portable. He wishes them to be like charms
or amulets. Akashi shies away from realistic toys because he feels they
make the toy about its technical accomplishments rather than about the
toy itself. Nagi Noda says that for her, cute is about how she feels
inside when she makes the piece. She did not realize that people considered
her work cute, and was surprised that that is how it is often classified.
Although they did not explain "Kawaii" they did manage to affirm
that "Kawaii" is very much a part of Japanese culture and design.
(NR)
|
 |
 |
