tokujin yoshioka. interview with the japanese designer .......................................................................................................................................................
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was born in saga prefecture, japan in 1967. after graduating from kuwasawa design school in tokyo, he studied design under shiro kuramata (1987-1988) and issey miyake (1988-1992) and went free-lance in 1992. he established the tokujin yoshioka design office in 2000. his works include shop design for issey miyake, space design for nissan, bmw, shiseido. he planned exhibitions for issey miyake, hermes, muji and peugeot. his product design series known as ‘tokyo-pop’, based on his previous ‘honey-pop design, has been introduced by driade. recent works include a street furniture piece at roppongi hills entitled ‘chair disappears in the rain’. he is the recipient of many international design awards. related links: http://www.tokujin.com http://www.designboom.com/contemporary/muji.html ----------------------------------------------------------------- we met tokujin yoshioka in milan on april 13th, 2004 -------------------------------- what is the best moment of the day? the early morning, when I’m alone I think a lot... what kind of music do you listen to at the moment? ambient. do you listen to the radio? sometimes. what books do you have on your bedside table? no books. do you read design magazines? some. but not reading much. where do you get news from, newspapers? tv and newspapers. do you notice how women are dressing? I don’t have any preference. it depends on the woman. what kind of clothes do you avoid wearing? I want to be ‘normal’, all the time. I dress simple. cannot stand the elegant, complicated style. do you have any pets? yes, a dog, a chihuahua! when you were a child, did you want to become a designer? yes, since I was six years old. where do you work on your designs and concepts? everywhere, I’m always working. when I’m eating, driving, when I go to bed... even when I sleep. which project has given you the most satisfaction? collaborating on issey miyake’s exhibition ‘making things’. who would you like to design something for? I would love to design a contemporary japanese thermal bath. and to collaborate with artists. do you discuss your work with other designers? no. but I discuss with technicians, researchers, professors at universities... describe your style, like a good friend of yours would describe it. I want to move on. ... surprise people. in a simple way. the reason why I select materials is not because they are interesting or new, my constant research is how to make materials even more interesting. this goes for colour too and I’m integrating gravity and the surrounding space in my designs. can you describe an evolution in your work from your first projects to the present day? it’s very difficult, my work is so recent. I don’t think I changed much. my behavior is always the same. I attempt to transcend banality with a form of experimental layering that elevates the work. my objective is to create something that no one has done before. is there any designer and/or architect, you appreciate a lot? shiro kuramata, achille castiglioni... and those still working? jacques herzog any advice for the young ? NO! (laughs) quicktime clip 124 kb. what are you afraid of regarding the future? (I'm always anxious...) I generally don’t care about stuff, but I fear the lack of stuff - by ‘stuff’ I mean, very broadly, the physical parts, the ‘real-world’ materiality - in a growing nonphysical, immaterial world. legitimation of stuff in the digital realm. what will be the purpose of design? quicktime clip 316 kb. --- ------- monthly designboom newsletter ------- ------- ? comments and contact us ? -------	tokujin yoshioka © designboom ‘air du temps 90x90' installation, silk scarves tirred by a light breeze maison hermès / forum in ginza, tokyo, 2004 photographer: nacasa & partners inc. ‘kiss me goodbye’ armchair for driade, 2004 ‘en’ table for driade, 2003 'tokyo-pop' stools for driade, 2003 ‘tokyo pop’ seating for driade, 2002 presentation for 'peugeot - metamorphose', aoyama, tokyo, 2003 (on a latticework wall were 100,000 light-emitting diodes) presentation plan for nissan showroom,  2000 facade completely covered by information 'honey-pop' chair created from a two dimensional build up of 120 pieces of glassine paper which are glued together and precisely cut. the structure is then opened forming a strong three dimensional honeycomb structure. photographer: nacasa & partners inc. ‘ToFU’ for yamagiwa, 2000 ‘tofu’ can be molded into any number of forms, from cubes to turkeys, and now has another incarnation as a light source. the lamp is manufactured based on the traditional tofu-production process, a complex series of steps that results in the most simplistic of forms. to make the light, acrylic resin is first carefully poured into a mold, then cut out to make a perfectly translucent square, after which a halogen bulb is inserted into its side. the result is an eminently palatable fixture that glows from within.