design tavern

I first came across MUJI via Jase Cooper’s blog so decided to do a bit of research and see what all of the fuss is about.

What Is MUJI?
Founded in 1980 MUJI is a Japanese company,  which sells a wide variety of home wares and consumer goods.

But under the surface..
“MUJI’s is known for conservation of natural resources, low prices, simplicity, anonymity and an orientation toward nature. We embrace all of these attributes without placing disproportionate emphasis on any of them”

MUJI’s ideology on products and their production..

“MUJI strives to base its design on the nature of the material making up a product..We simplify our process to elimiate waste entirely, but we carefully select and incorporate quality materials and processing technologies. Put simply, we create quality at low cost for smart purchases.”

Now famous for it’s deep underlying philosophy on living and consuming, MUJI has made it’s way from Japan to all over Asia, UK, Europe and North America.

MUJI AWARD
INTERNATIONAL DESIGN COMPETITION

“For the coming MUJI Award 03, we want you to find “Found MUJI” from your viewpoint. Learn from the wisdom accumulated by our predecessors all over the world, find good points in such long-established merchandise, and convert them into a design that fits our modern life.

The competition attracted 1986 entries from 35 countries in just 2 months.

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and the winners are..

Gold Prize

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Straw Straw – Yuki Lida (Japan)
“The original meaning of the term “straw” was “wheat straw”. Wall art depicting people using straws of wheat to drink from have been discovered from ancient Mesopotamian ruins. Straws of wheat are forms created by nature; they are materials that return to the soil. There’s no waste in either the shape itself, or in its actual existence.”

Silver Prize

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Trash Pack for outdoors – Ken Sugimoto/Eri Sugimoto (USA)
“A trash bag that easily stands up by itself. By taking advantage of the triangular pack that originated in Sweden and has been used for years for serving milk for school lunches in Japan, we were able to achieve a sense of stability, while the tendency to worry about the actual contents of the bag has been lessened. Can be put to good use when camping, on a picnic, or with other outdoor activities.”

Bronze Prizes

(more at the MUJI AWARD 03)

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A Precise Stapler – Joonhyun Kim (South Korea)
“When you usually use a stapler, you can’t seem to align the staple up exactly where you want it to be, which often leads to trouble. To solve this kind of problem, an indentation lined up with the corner of the paper has been set, making it easy for you to sink a staple in exactly the place you want it to go.”

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Second Skin – .Jbaptiste Sénéquier (France)
“Second Skin” is a double layered with 2 different textured sides – the outer layer being waterproof and protective, the inner layer being soft and gentle. It has the ability to transform itself and help you adapt to any situations – Use as a Towel, Changing Room, bag or Waterproof Poncho…all you need to do is… “Zip it, tighten it, loosen it, carry it, turn it, spread it……and relax.”