The ‘No-Design’ Design of Muji
The development process behind the world-famous no-brand products
by Mamiko Nakano
Muji is a Japanese brand that claims to be ‘no-brand’. Founded 35 years ago, the company now plans and sells all kinds of products related to people’s daily lives. The simplicity of their ‘no-design’ designs seems to fit easily into various cultural environments, and overseas fans are steadily increasing. The number of shops outside Japan has grown to 300 at the moment, and by 2017, and the company aims to have a total of 888 shops in and outside Japan.
What is behind the creation process of these unbranded products and their universal appeal? I talked to Naoko Yano, General Manager of the Planning and Design Office of the Household Division at Ryohin Keikaku, which oversees the design process of all household-related Muji products, from ballpoint pens to large furniture.
Being simply simple
Since the brand started in 1980, the total number of Muji products has grown to 6,500 items. Out of these items, 4,000 of Muji’s products are household goods. I first asked Yano if she is thinking about being ‘Zen’ or Japanese when she designs products, since these are some of the characteristics that Muji is often associated with. She responded, “I have never thought about that.” From the time the brand was first developed, she says, Muji products have been created with only 3 simple principles: selecting the appropriate materials; reviewing the production process; and simplifying packaging.
“We have just continued to be simple. If the product is simple, customers gain more freedom and versatility when they use them. Simplicity is very important to us.” Yano explains with Muji’s polypropylene (PP) storage case, one of Muji’s basic items, to illustrate. “When these cases were first made, we focused on removing excess coating and finishing, in order to lower the price.”
A counter-culture of the consumer society, created by a representative of a retail giant
It was Seiji Tsutsumi, a representative of Japanese retail giant Saison, and Ikko Tanaka, a graphic designer, who invented this concept of Muji to produce and sell simple and easy-to-use products. In the 1970s, Japan’s economy was in the midst of rapid growth. Tsutsumi, who was making a success in his business, had conflicting feelings about playing a leading role in a society of consumer excess. That brought him to come up with ideas about products that had no brand, simple functionality, and a reasonable price.
Thus, in 1980, a leader of consumer culture gave birth to a brand that was an antithesis to the existing consumer society. Ikko Tanaka and other prominent creators directed the brand’s overall design. When Tanaka passed away in 2002, four creators who inherited Tanaka’s philosophy continued to provide guidance to the product design at Muji, depending on their expertise. Naoto Fukasawa (Product design), Kenya Hara (advertising), Ichiko Koike (copywriting), and Takashi Sugimoto (store environment) come together to Muji’s headquarters in Tokyo once a month to listen directly to the staff about what is going on at the ground level with respect to Muji’s product creation and overall activity. They provide expert advice so the Muji brand can create the best possible experience for their users.
In the case of household goods, which Yano supervises, Naoto Fukasawa, the senior advisor for product design, is responsible of the overall direction of the products. “Mr. Fukasawa has a perfect understanding of the Muji brand”, says Yano. “Because of his deep understanding, he is able to give us very straightforward advice. At the same time, we are not just listening to him passively, and we have considerable and lively debates”.
One of the products born from the interactions of Fukasawa and the household goods section are the sofa benches set up in Terminal 3 of Narita Airport. The deep blue color makes an impression unlike any other Muji product — most of which tend to have no colors. “Mr.Fukasawa told us that to express the uplifting feeling of going to the airport. He told us it would be better to use the color of the sky and other colors found in nature for this product. He gave this advice based on his experiences working with public spaces.”
Understanding users’ real needs
Muji products are not only created from conversations within the advisory boards; many are the result of direct interaction with end-users. The two most interesting kinds of production development processes at Muji are “observations,” and those made through the “Kurashino Ryohin Kenkyujo (Good Life Institute)”.
Observations are typically short visits to individual homes. “We go to our customers’ and families’ houses and look at the problems they have cleaning their home spaces. People do things unconsciously that make their homes messy, so we come up with product ideas that will help them,” says Yano. “But if we tell them we are visiting them at a certain day and time, they always clean up before we get there. So we always pay surprise visits to our friends’ and families’ homes”.
Observations are done in several teams of 3 to 4 people, usually a combination chosen from among the 20 designers in the household goods and merchandising sections. The visits take place in spring and autumn. When they are planning to make products for seniors, Muji representatives will go to elderly people’s houses; when they are planning products for young people, they go to young people’s houses. Yano says going to actual people’s living spaces leads to a lot of discoveries that help bring about new product ideas.
At the end of 2014, Muji conducted its first overseas observation in Hong Kong. The topic for this observation was ‘small housing’, which was a theme set up to benefit Muji’s upcoming renovation business. Yano tells me that, in Hong Kong, it is quite common for a middle class family of 3 adults to live in a small space of 40 square meters. “Many things are packed into small spaces. Things are hanged wherever they can be hanged”, Yano recalls. “But the people of Hong Kong love to shop and do no like throwing things away. In that situation, we are now thinking about how the spaces could be tidied up, Muji style”.
Born from user’s voices, the sofa that spoils people
Muji’s body-fit sofa, which has captured the hearts of many American and Chinese users, is another product created through interactions with end-users. It was born from a pre-site of a web project called the “ Kurashino Ryohin Kenkyujo (Good Life Iinstitute)”.
“At Kurashino Ryohin Kenkyujo, we try to catch user’s a bit ahead of the curve. We provide information to our users and ask them questions”(Yano). In the pre-site they operated in the early 2000s before their current site was developed, they asked their customers what kind of sofa they would like to have if they were to live a ‘low-height life’. “We came up with three prototype sofas, and the body-fit sofa got the most votes from our users. Then it was made into an actual product”.
The sofa was originally released in 2003, but ten years after in 2013, it became famous earning the nickname “people-spoiling sofa” on Japanese social media. Sales have grown extensively since then, paving the way for expanded production that has made overseas retail possible. Sales of the sofa are now at a record high.
Broadening the meaning of ‘design’
Muji products are all designed as solutions to actual life problems; none of them is created for the sake of design. Of the creation process of Muji products, Yano says, that the word ‘design’ could be interpreted in a very broad sense. “For Muji products, I think that what we select, where we produce, and how we sell the products, are all ‘design’.”
Lastly, I asked Yano what the future holds for Muji’s designs. She shared their company slogan, ‘jishin ni michita kore de ii’, which means “aming for the best that we can do in our given situation, with clarity and confidence.”
“Since economic and social situations change constantly, things like just using natural materials without thinking about the surrounding situations won’t work. I think from now on too, we’ll just keep on thinking about the best solutions to problems and how we can be of help to people’s daily lives.”
Originally published at ignition.co.
