DESIGN TALKS plus

Textiles are a ubiquitous material that bring warmth, comfort and color to our everyday lives. As people everywhere reassess their values in the ongoing pandemic, new and playful designs have emerged that draw on the beauty of textiles. Textile designer Himuro Yuri explores designs that are shaping new relationships with fabrics.

On Design Hunts Andy and Shaula search for designs rooted in regional history and climates. This time they're in Kagoshima Prefecture, at the southern tip of the island of Kyushu. Home to untouched landscapes and the active volcano Sakurajima it's easy to feel the awe-inspiring power of nature here. Join us on a hunt for energetic Kagoshima designs that pair the epic majesty of nature with delicate craftsmanship.

Public art eschews specialist spaces such as galleries and museums in favor of all-access squares, parks and gardens. New York-based artist Tomokazu Matsuyama has produced astonishing examples that have put him in a global spotlight. Explore the significance and potential of public art through an examination of his works.

We're surrounded by a hugely diverse array of tools all the time. Creating tools helped humanity overcome limits and evolve. Digital devices such as smartphones have led to massive changes in our relationship with tools. Furniture designer Koizumi Makoto explores the future and potential of tools, as well as our relationship with them.

For millennia, people have repeated patterns to create designs that have a significance far deeper than mere aesthetics. Today, many creators in different fields are shaping new, repeated designs. Artist Tokolo Asao explores the beauty and impact of repetition.

The pandemic has led to online meetings and contactless payments – our lives are now about avoiding face-to-face interactions. But new designs ask us to reexamine the value and significance of touch. Aesthetician Ito Asa researches physical sensations and perspectives through her work with disabled people. Join her on an exploration of touch!

Natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods and typhoons can strike with no warning and totally upend our lives. New designs tackle our relationship with nature, and help us prepare for disasters. Civil-engineering designer Hoshino Yuji explores the potential of designs that heighten disaster preparedness, and which help build new relationships between people and nature in an effort to prevent the worst.

As online digital communication becomes the norm, many feel we're losing our connections to others. How do we build relationships that retain their human warmth? New designs draw on unique technology and ideas to create a reassuring sense of warmth, and human presence. Married couple Ishikawa Teruyuki and Yuka are the 3DCG creative unit "TELYUKA." Join their exploration of communication designs for the future!

As we reexamine our relationships with the natural world and our cities, landscape design has become of paramount importance. Urban planning once limited this to ornamental plantings for office buildings and landmark parks. Now elements of regional history, cultural background, civil engineering, and eco-conscious sustainability all play a role in landscape designs. Landscape architects Ishii Hideyuki and Noda Akiko explore a new world of landscape design born from our relationship with nature.

As information travels faster than ever our memories are being overwritten at extraordinary speed. This is why some are creating designs that shine a spotlight on memories with deep roots. Entwining the memories of people, nature and cities with designs helps us remember who we are. Architect Horibe Yasushi examines the relationship between memory and design, and explores its potential!

As the world turns towards more sustainable societies, new projects are leveraging the power of design to turn abandoned farmland, forests and buildings into places for people and things to forge new connections. Tools and historic technology considered of low-economic value are being reclassified as regional assets that are attractive and easy to use for everyone. Architect Tsukamoto Yoshiharu explores the world of designs that turn local resources into new lifestyles.

The shift to paperless living is a way to be greener and more sustainable. The pandemic also moved many industries further toward digitalization, decreasing our changes to interact with paper. Yet there are new designs that focus on paper as a material. Artist and washi artisan Hamada Hironao explores the new potential of paper.

Famous for beautiful towns lined with white-plaster buildings and Bizen-ware pottery, Okayama Prefecture has much to offer a design hunter. It has a long history of textile manufacture, as well as some of Japan's most productive cypress forests, and the rich wealth of the Seto Inland Sea. The region prizes its heritage of cultural and natural assets, yet has many successful product designs for modern life that enthrall young consumers and foreigners. Join us on a design hunt in Okayama!

Pale colors and understated themes, dimly lit forms with a gentle glow. "Subtle" designs can take many forms. Product designer Suzuki Gen has made an international career out of exploring the potential of such designs. Explore the wonderful world of subtle designs, and how Suzuki creates products that harmonize perfectly with their surroundings.

It's often said that Japanese believe carving to be an act of prayer. Today this craft is used to create beautiful, textured everyday items as well as new artforms. The diverse philosophies of such artists are reflected in their work. Buddhist sculptor and carver Yoshimizu Kaimon explores the extraordinary world of Japanese carving designs.

Nara Prefecture is home to ancient capitals, history and tradition. Its historic and cultural links with East Asia mean this is where culture came from the continent, and where it developed. It has many historic temples, shrines and burial mounds, and deer once believed to be divine messengers walk its streets. Small wonder that Nara's young creators are shaping regional designs that speak to all 5 senses. Join us on a design hunt in Nara, where Japan's ancient landscape meets modern sensibilities.

Tochigi Prefecture has a rich natural landscape, and a deeply-rooted regional culture. At only 100 kilometers from Tokyo, its artisans have spent centuries creating everyday items for the capital. Discover Mashiko ware which brings a touch of beauty to ordinary life, and Kanuma brooms which combine practicality with beauty. Join us on a design hunt in Tochigi that reveals inherited local memories, exceptional craftsmanship, and new designs for the next generation!

Japan is rich in water, and this vital resource has shaped Japanese culture and everyday life. The flow of water and sparkling refraction of light has always been a source of inspiration, and still sparks creative modern designs. Our guest is designer Tatsuno Shizuka explores fresh, appealing products with a water theme. Water in architecture, and revolutionary water technology. Discover the potential for designs which connect water, people and the environment.

We're all searching for alternatives to the mass-production, mass-consumption model. But even knowing how vital it is to find sustainable, plastic-free options, it can be hard to change our lives unless pleasure is also in the mix. Fun, alternative designs in Japan offer the chance to make or repair products instead of buying new. Guest creator Mukasa Taro explores a world of new and diverse designs!

A two-part series on revitalizing traditional Japanese homes. In our first episode, explore designs for evolving lifestyles. These historic spaces inspire a spirit of DIY, and provide a sustainable, not too convenient way of life. Landscape creator Danzuka Eiki guides us through the designs of traditional Japanese architecture, we talk to creators who live in old homes and showcase their own lifestyle designs!

Traditional homes are a key aspect of Japan's historic cityscapes. But an ageing and falling population combined with difficulties to repairs mean that every region is struggling to keep these homes in use. In our second of a two-part series on revitalizing old homes, we look at projects and experimental designs that are turning such houses into public spaces as a way to preserve these cityscapes. Architect Nagasaka Jo explores designs for traditional homes that bring new value to neighborhoods and residents.

Artist Daito Manabe uses computational design to create unique and extraordinary art. We visit Manabe's studio to explore the secrets behind his bold vision. Discover how the latest digital technology resonates and interacts with the human body, pushing new boundaries in Manabe's artworks and designs. Uncover the design potential of computational technology.