Design Magazine AXIS Vol.214

FEATURE :Thinking from the perspective of borders
Re-framing existing "borders" and building new relationships

The world and society we live in are filled with borders. There are physical borders that define nations or places, and there are many psychological borders that involve human relationships and emo-tions within oneself as well as with others.
During the COVID-19 pandemic that is forcing us to live different lifestyles, many areas where the borderlines between conventional "districts" and "boundaries," such as real and virtual communication, became ambiguous. This issue's feature explore possible new val-ues and frameworks that may emerge in the future through borders that might also be transient if we take a bird's eye view of the world. We show new ways of viewing society and the power of imagina-tion through borders that we envision and where we ourselves are the subject.

INSIGHT
A design traced back to Tokujin Yoshioka's philosophy
ーWhat is Yoshioka's aim imbued in the form expressed with LIXIL?

The Regional Celebration Cauldron was unveiled in Tokoname City, Aichi Prefecture in August, 2021. It was designed by Tokujin Yoshioka and produced for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games in a project by LIXIL Corporation that owns the brand INAX that origi-nated in the city. In this project, Yoshioka says he and LIXIL gave form to something that had never existed before.

INSIGHT
Interview with the curators of the Sneakers Unboxed exhibition at the Design Museum, London

Rachel Hajek is currently assistant curator at the Design Museum. The exhibition was pro-grammed to open in May 2020, but the opening took place over a year later. The exhibition is split between two sections: Style and Performance. We asked her about the exhibition.

INSIGHT
A package design project to reexamine today's convenience store foods

Mitsubishi Corporation Packaging Ltd. launched a project  for reexamining package design for convenience store  bento (lunch boxes) and other containers with BIGLONG,  TAKT PROJECT, SWIMMING and Hiromichi Konno Design  Studio. It is an attempt to make changes in the ecology  of convenience stores through familiar designs.

INSIGHT
Thomas Heatherwick and China's IM Motors
ーThe future of intelligent EVs in urban environments

Electric Vehicle (EV) fever is rapidly heightening in China today. At this year's Shanghai Motor Show in April, IM Motors unveiled AIRO designed by Thomas Heatherwick. We asked Heatherwick and IM Motors about the future of EV and mobility in urban spaces.

INSIGHT
81 exercises to draw out creative ideas 
ーInterview with d.school's Sarah Stein Greenberg

Stanford's d.school is sometimes called the headquar-ters of design thinking. A 300-page book was published in September examining the unconventional experiences and creative approaches conducted there. The author is Sarah Stein Greenberg, Executive Director of d.school. We talked with her about the ideas in her book.

LEADERS 
Tomohiro Sawada (Copy writer and Representative Director at World Yuru Sports Association)

While working for a major advertising agency, Sawada established World Yuru Sports Association in 2015 and is also active as a sports and welfare creator. This interview started from a story about the closing ceremony for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games for which he was in charge utilizing his field of activity.

Kinya Tagawa's BTC Talk Jam
Guest: Teruo Fujii (President of the University of Tokyo)

This series navigated by Kinya Tagawa of the design innovation firm Takram talks with top runners who connect the three fields of business, technology, and creativity. It closes in on the works, and ideas behind them, of those who will attract attention in future society.