Author: Lin Wei
I believe you are very familiar with the brand MUJI. As one of the most successful Life Style Stores in the world, it has grown from the initial 40 basic items to today's more than 7,000 items covering almost every corner of daily life, which took more than 40 years.
The picture on the left is MUJI’s first store, built in 1983. The picture on the right shows the original 40 items of MUJI | image: muji.com
But among the numerous products of MUJI today, can each item represent the highest design level of their house? I don't think so. Therefore, at the moment when social media is extremely developed, from internet celebrities to media from all walks of life, they will "screen" some so-called "good products for self-use" according to the market trend, or package the products with the title of "ultra-high sales". Even MUJI official has a fixed column every year, popular product rankings and top ten sales rankings.
image: superpotato.jp
So in such an environment, I will raise another question, "Will the products that everyone recommends on the Internet be no different?" I think that for products of the MUJI brand, this sentence is at least 60% correct. But if you have read Xiaohongshu or the recommended products about MUJI on the rankings, you will find that the things you mentioned are actually quite the same, and you are really bored. So Lin Wei, I took a different approach today and collected several items that have impressed MUJI leaders and presented them to everyone!
image: The first place on the pretimes.jp
is the design backbone of MUJI's house - Naoto Shinsawa. This big shot himself may not be well-known in China, but he is a real "hot-making machine". For example, the wall-mounted CD players you can see in almost all MUJI stores, as well as the kitchen appliance series, are all made by others. As long as you carefully observe Naoto Hiroshi's design, you will definitely be moved by his exquisite details.
image: muji.com
This travel folding hanger from MUJI to Go, I think it is because the designer and Naoto Shinko's design concept are very consistent, so he praised it in the interview. As Naoto Fukasa himself said: "The so-called travel is to go to places far away from their daily life, enjoy preferential services or do things that are difficult to do in daily life. This is of course very attractive; however, it is not very happy to bring daily life to those beautiful places, and wash your underwear and socks as usual in a place where you can enjoy the beautiful mountains and seas. " (This hanger is definitely very practical for friends who often travel on business. Currently, Taobao purchases are about 45 yuan.)
image: muji.com
This aluminum business card box, also mentioned by Naoto Fukasasa, reflects the term "Compact Life" advocated by MUJI. At first glance, this may be a slightly derogatory term, but according to MUJI, it means “making things that are really needed in life into forms that are really needed”. So compared to the compact or restrained meaning in Compact, I think this business card box with no decoration is more prominent in simplicity and practicality. (Small Taobao price is 39 yuan)
image: gqjapan.jp / muji.com
月1月天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天天� While in charge of N.HOOLYWOOD, this trend-oriented OG officially announced at the end of 2016 that she had taken over as design director of MUJI's high-end clothing line MUJI Labo, adding new charm to MUJI.
image: IG@daisuke_obana / muji.com
When you see this pair of sneakers from MUJI, readers will definitely question it, "Are you all recommended these shoes on major platforms many times?" It's true! But this dark gray color scheme that has been newly launched soon has a very good background. According to Ohara in IG, this new color scheme is a work shoe made by him for employees of the newly opened art gallery "ARTIZON MUSEUM", which he opened last year.Not only does the shoe have a certain waterproofness as the original color scheme, but the outsole and the PU part of the toe are also dyed gray. Currently, the purchase price of Taobao can be handled within 200 yuan, so it is really hard not to be moved. (Suddenly I have the illusion of writing unpopular sneakers hh)
image: IG@daisuke_obana / muji.com
I have to say that Okara is really a dedicated and good employee of MUJI. From time to time I will bring goods to the owner. Among the MUJI products he posted, books appear the most frequently. For example, this book MUJI BOOK 2 was praised by Okara, and it is said that it also changed his design philosophy for MUJI Labo. The content of this work, MUJI BOOK, continues the main line of the previous work that tells the history and products of the brand, presenting readers with a story about how MUJI responded to the huge changes in society in the decade from 2010 to 2020. If you need inspiration, you may also be able to come and have a book.
The poster on the picture is Kazuko Koike's work, and the title slogan is translated as "The whole body of the salmon is salmon"丨image: tjapan.jp
In Steppy's article last year: "Without the early iron triangle of MUJI, there would be no today's MUJI" also introduced this lady Kazuko Koike in more detail. She is not only the founder of MUJI aesthetics, but also serves as the director of Towada Modern Art Museum and a professor at Muno Art University. It has made outstanding achievements in many fields such as fashion, publishing, and art.
image: muji.com
This organic herbal tea mentioned by Kazuko Koike in his speech is not only healthier, but also brings a richer compound aroma to the sense of taste and smell by mixing various natural plants with unique flavors. In my opinion, it also has the same original intention as the slogan mentioned earlier, "The whole body of the salmon is full of salmon", trying to guide us to actively feel the beauty of the raw materials themselves. At present, some products of the organic herbal tea series have been launched in China MUJI (priced at 18 yuan per bag). Other flavors that are not available in mainland China are also available for purchase on Taobao. In early spring when the cold has not yet disappeared, you might as well make a cup of warmth~
Maybe you will feel unfamiliar with this gray-haired uncle in front of you, but last year the logo he designed for a domestic mobile phone brand caused unprecedented controversy (yes, it was the Xiaomi that cost two million). Regarding this storm, I am not a professional graphic designer after all, so I don’t have the ability to evaluate it. But from the perspective of MUJI's design philosophy, I think , Kenya, , is the candidate who is absolutely competent for the position of artistic director.
image: muji.com
In Kenya's interview with MUJI, the feeling that his language and design brought me was that he was not only doing "subtraction" for MUJI, but also magnifying "nature" countless times. The "nature" here does not refer to nature, but natural rationality. Just as furniture designer is thinking about the meaning of "backrest", the chair back and the bed backrest will appear at the same angle until the end. This is true for most of MUJI's excellent products, with a natural tacit understanding.
image: muji.com / pass-case.com
The same is true for the square watch and alarm clock that Kenya gave in the interview. Both products are from the hands of MUJI chief designer Naoto Fukasaki mentioned at the beginning of the article, and their appearance is inspired by the square clock commonly found in Japanese stations. It is not difficult for us to feel what is called "nature" in the MUJI context after careful thinking. To be honest, I am still willing to pay for such a "take-it-it-your-kind" design. (The alarm clock is priced at 158 yuan on Taobao, and the watch is priced at 13,930 yen in MUJI in Japan)
image: muji.com
This white porcelain tableware series, which is also one of the cases in the interview, is more popular than the previous products, but it is really excellent. This series was first released in 2004, when MUJI invited Japanese national treasure porcelain master Masao Mori to design it, and it is said that it was also made of Japanese famous Amacao ceramic stone.(This series is still on sale at present)
image: muji.com
. The white porcelain soy sauce bottle, which is a representative product, has its spout at a very exquisite angle, which is not only convenient for aiming, but also perfectly prevents the liquid in the bottle from flowing along the spout to the body of the bottle (it is so suitable for clumsy people like me). Having said so much, I think that compared to emphasizing a little empty concept such as "design language" or "xx aesthetics", this kind of sympathy that focuses on details is the main selling point of MUJI.
image: muji.com
OK, this article is coming to an end. I wonder if you have got the new "MUJI Treasure Product"?
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