Japanese designers to hold an exhibition for showing beautiful products to reduce an infection risk

Arakawa & Co.,Ltd. supports a designerwho iseager to create designed products which is suitable for beautiful scene such as restaurant and hotel room to reduce an infection risk caused by covid-19. This is the second phase of the NEW NORMAL, NEW STANDARD exhibition organized last fall. It received a significant impact, under the theme "Beautiful Countermeasures against Infectious Diseases.”Countermeasures against COVID 19 during dining are often undertaken with social distance and partitions. However, they can be cumbersome and inconvenient in many cases.We hope to use the power of design to remedythis difficult time, albeit only slightly. For this year’s exhibition, six selected designers developed products to make mealtime a pleasant and peaceful experience.

Products and Designers Information

MASHILO

The MASHILO chair is constructed exclusively from Japanese cypress trees sourced in Hiroshima Prefecture. In addition to being used as an anti-infection measure, the chair was designed to provide a place where people can enjoy a meal alone, quietly and peacefully, as if they were spending time in a forest, thereby allowing them to appreciate the meal itself more intimately. With these thoughts in mind, MASHILO comes into being as a place to savor a moment with a clear conscience.

Kaori Akiyama, a founder of STUDIO BYCOLOR,is dedicated to find meanings and effects that colors have on people. This firm is known to employ wide range of colors in product design, space design as well as branding.

CAMERIERE　

CAMERIERE is an ideal mask stand for storing masks in restaurants, hotels, or at home. The vertically elongated structure stores masks efficiently and aesthetically in the minimum space required. The simple and soft lines found in cutlery are applied to create a visually harmonious design.

Kairi Eguchi, established KED, Japanese industrial design studio,based in Osakain 2008. With the studio philosophy -“Discover the unknowns.”, KED not only provide standard design service, but also continue expanding its services such as product planning, design strategy, etc. to provide elegant and new approach for a better user experience.

BREATHE SCREEN

Developed to enhance the experience of mealtime, BREATHE SCREEN has a three-dimensional shape, with transparent silicone placed on both sides where it meets the cheeks, and is worn with the face in between. This mask will reduce the inconvenience of attaching and detaching masks during "masked dinners," thereby making the precious limited mealtime of today more enjoyable.

Takanori Urata, afterworked for Tokujin Yoshioka Design, established TAKANORI URATA DESIGN INC. in 2010. In 2014, he started sunsetclimax inc. for outdoor gears industry. He received some awards, such as GOOD DESIGN AWARD, iF DESIGN AWARD, DFA Design for Asia Awards, German Design Awards and so on.

Object Ⅱ

Object IIis a splash-proof set of partitions that enhance the enjoyment and vitality of dining. The vibrantly hued acrylics add flavor to the space instead of just functioning as tasteless partitions. Moreover, the pillar weights can be used as flower vases to adda touch of color to meals. It is hoped that the presence of the partitions will be forgotten while dining, and that the atmosphere will become a little more like it was before the COVID-19 disaster.

Akira Nakagomifounded the AKIRA NAKAGOMI DESIGN in 2012,after working at TOKUJIN YOHSIOKA DESIGN.The goal is to design beautiful products, taking into account materials and techniques.

MASK VASE

MASK VASE is a paper mask case stand designed for use while eating at restaurants. While it is aproduct for the "new lifestyle,” in which wearing masks has become mandatory, it can also be used to add flowers and plants after the epidemic that will eventually come to an end. This is a design that combines a mask case stand and a flower vase to remind us to live colorfully.

Yuma Kano, founded studio yumakano after working as an assistant to artist Yasuhiro Suzuki, is bringing the old environment to life through product design, product planning, brand direction, interior planning, artwork, and other projects.

OBI

This is a unique freestanding handkerchief that can also be used as a cup sleeve.Theshape of the handkerchief is cylindrical to make it as compact as possible when placed in a pocket, yet self-standing on a desk to help it dry naturally. The product was designed based on the manufacturing process of Hirafu Orimono's knitted Japanese beltfor the Kimono called an Obi, so that it can be created efficiently and would create the appearance of an Obi when attached to a coffee cup.

ANDASSOCIATESfounded by Tomoki Doiis a design firm based in Tokyo that strives to design simple andflexible pieces, in hopes to add some playful elements.