Consumer goods trade fair focuses on Japan
The consumer goods trade fair Ambiente presents Japan as partner country 2014.
Simple design, classic form and practical use: the soya sauce bottle by the Japanese company Kikkoman is an essential accessory in sushi restaurants. It’s regarded as a design classic and is part of the collection at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. It symbolizes design from Japan which has a major worldwide influence on product design.
The consumer goods trade fair Ambiente in Frankfurt am Main is focusing on this trend by making Japan the partner country in 2014. The world’s most important event in this sector is presenting products surrounding dining, the kitchen and household, gifts and decorative articles as well as home living concepts and furnishing accessories. More than 100 Japanese exhibitors are expected at this year’s Ambiente including the Kyocera printer company, the knife producer Miyabi and the porcelain tableware manufacturer Noritake. “I would like our designs to reveal the unknown side of Japan to the Ambiente visitors from around the globe,” says Yukio Hashimoto, designer and ambassador of the Partner Country Japan project. He is curating the special show entitled Super Ennichi, or “festival of happiness”, which is presenting brightly coloured products as well as traditional manufacturing techniques. The show also includes everyday art, such as origami paper folding and the technique of wrapping gifts in a Japanese furoshiki cloth.
“Japan is an important export nation and strongly influences style in contemporary design. The interplay of traditional handicrafts and clear lines make Japanese product design unique,” explains Nicolette Naumann, Vice President of Ambiente. This is one of the main reasons that Japanese producers regularly receive design awards: in 2014 Hasegawa Kogyo from Osaka will be honoured with the German Design Award presented by the German Design Council. His winning design: a stepladder that appeals not only to the eye but is also “a haptic experience thanks to its gently rounded forms in lightweight matte lacquered metal.”
International Consumer Goods Trade Fair Ambiente from 7 to 11 February 2014 in Frankfurt am Main
Presentation of the German Design Award 2014 on 7 February 2014
