Change of Japanese Social Life and Japanese Industrial Design

Japan’s achievements in economic development are obvious to all. In just 50 years, Japan has stood up not only from the post-war ruins, but also has become one of the most economically influential countries in the world. Japan’s industrial design has also grown from a simple imitation to a powerful force in the design world of today’s world. The changes in social life and design are inextricably linked. By analyzing these relationships, we can provide a good reference for our design work. I would like to start with the historic events that have had a major impact on design in Japan in the following 50 years, and explore the relationship between life changes and design, and then develop new ideas for us.

After the defeat of Japan in 1945, the material was extremely poor, and survival became the top goal of the people's lives. At this time, there was no requirement for design, and everything was simply reduced to a pattern that could meet the minimum need for survival. In the late 1940s, Japan’s economy improved, “human scooters” (representing the Italian type of scooters) and eight-headed body models began to become popular, and people considered “product supply = a manifestation of a democratic society”. The equivalence of the two reflects the interactive relationship between people's minds and their social life. At this time, people's ideal living model is an American kitchen: clean, tidy and convenient.

In 1952, the Japan Industrial Designers Association was founded and launched the "Life Improvement Campaign." At this time, the concept of "industrial design" has not been formed in people's minds. There are no specialized departments in the company to plan, and there are no professional industrial designers. All of them are part-time artists. In the fifties, Japan held its first auto show, and industrial design began to attract people's attention. Although the industrial design work at this time is still only a simple cover design, but due to the government's attention, legislation limits the design of foreign product theft, Japan's industrial design has taken a big step forward. People's understanding of commodities has evolved into "a supply of goods = a proof of cultural life = the grace of civilization." During this period, the Japanese government published its first "White Paper on Economy" after the war and proposed the concept of "modern life." In 1957, the G Mark system was established, marking the beginning of the era of the development of original products as the main subject. This system has made a lasting and effective contribution to improving the international competitiveness of Japanese products. At that time, Japanese production departments sent overseas delegations to learn about overseas products. JETRO (Japan Overseas Trade Promotion Association) has also established an overseas designer training system to send designers to well-designed Western countries. People began to pay attention to design management, and the concept of industrial design became clearer and clearer. By 1958, the output of black-and-white televisions in Japan had reached one million units. Televisions, refrigerators and washing machines have become the three major parts of Japanese life. Japan’s housing has been tense since then. At the end of the 1950s, the convening of the World Design Conference triggered the thinking of the Japanese design community. The specifications of Japanese industrial products gradually converged to international standards and formed uniform quality requirements (homogenization) and standardization of products. Internally, the company began to establish specialized departments and procedures for design, and industrial designers participated in the initial development of the product. The tasks and status of the designers within the company are gradually established, and their horizons are also broadened through extensive exchanges with the international community. The assessment of the design quality is mainly based on the convenience of operation, the durability and accuracy of the material, and the function is placed in the most important position.

In 1997, the Japan Consumers Association and the ergonomics (known in Japan as "human engineering") were founded. The title of the economic white paper published at this time was: "The Road to Advanced Countries." This shows that the Japanese government was confident and determined to develop the economy at that time, and the Japanese economy has entered an era of rapid development. Although there are not many types of products on the Japanese market at this time, manufacturers have already had the ability to mass-produce. In 1963, the output of black-and-white television exceeded 5 million units. In the 64th year of Tokyo, an Olympics event was held in Tokyo, which showed the world a new Japan and made Japan more aware of the world. The urbanization and internationalization of Japan has ushered in the era of popularization of automobiles, and people have begun to pursue the convenience of life. Ventilating fans, washing machines, air conditioners and vacuum cleaners have become the new “four major items”, and people’s desire for consumption is high. As a result of technological improvements, the design of electrical appliances has evolved to be “light, thin, short, and small”, and a large number of developments have been carried out on multi-functional composite products such as tape recorders. People's demands for products have become diversified and individualized. There are a wide variety of products, not only physical functions, but also more psychological functions. The output of each product is not as much as it used to be. It adapts to the needs of different people in small batches. The concept of "BICOLOGY" ecological science was raised in the design.

In 1973, ICSID (International Association of Industrial Designers) held a meeting in Kyoto, marking the beginning of the international recognition of the status of this Japanese design. The world oil crisis in the mid-1970s caused a considerable impact on Japan, which further stimulated the Japanese’s already strong sense of crisis. The design also naturally moved toward saving resources and energy, paying attention to the rationality of products and Practicality. The Japanese design community put forward the slogan: "SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL" (small is the United States). SONY's Walkman came into being at this time, selling the world. Japan’s car production reached 11 million units in the late 1970s, making it the world’s number one vehicle producer. The adequacy of goods and the improvement of their physical functions make the product design focus on the psychological function of the product.

In the 1980s, the level of science and technology in Japan has been increasing, and companies have become more knowledge-intensive and network-oriented. The design of "semiotics" is very popular. Japan entered the so-called "post-industrial society" and proposed "the value of commodities = the value of intelligence." The 89th World Design Conference and Design Expo was held in Nagoya to further broaden the horizons of Japanese designers.

After the 1990s, Japan’s bubble economy collapsed, large-scale corporate layoffs, and commodity prices fell sharply. In 1993, Japan’s Ministry of International Trade published the article “The Impact of Times' Changes on Design Policies”. This shows that the government pays attention to design in this very period. In addition, Japanese society has also formed two new characteristics: high degree of information and aging, all have a profound impact on the design. Computer application (CAD) has become popular in the Japanese design community, and internationally popular concepts such as “barrier-free design”, “green design”, and “universal design” have been popularized in Japan. Japanese designers established the goal of building Japan into a "circular society."
After a brief review of the social changes in Japan over the past 50 years, what topics were discussed by the Japan Industrial Designers Association in its 50 years of existence? In the early days of its establishment, the discussion focused on establishing the basic concepts of industrial design, and put forward two topics: "patent rights" and "design similarities." In the 1960s, it was the stage of absorbing advanced foreign experience. The discussion focused on the relationship between the company and the designer. It put forward “designed contracts”, “learning of new technologies”, “autonomy of industrial designers”, and “interior designers”. "And enterprise competition and designers" and other topics. When Japan's economy took off in the 1970s, JIDA paid attention to the relationship between design and society, civilization, spiritual life, and region. It put forward "the task of industrial design today," "Where is Japan's industrial design road," and "the effectiveness of industrial design?" The topics of "industrial design and society", "industrial design and life", "people and tools", "human psychology and material world", "human needs", "exchange and balance", etc. In the 1990s, JIDA devoted more energy to the study of the influence and advancement of cutting-edge technology on design. It also insisted on designing together with civilization, culture, and society, and put forward “advanced technology and design” and “modern car design”. "Human-computer interaction interface" and "information society and design" and other topics.

The development of industrial design in China cannot and does not need to follow the Japanese model completely, but their successful experience still deserves our study. First of all, Japan’s industrial design community is very practical and the entire design community is in close contact with companies. The vast majority of large companies (large enterprises account for about 5% of all Japanese companies) have huge product development departments and invest a lot of money in industrial design. As we all know, many Chinese companies have not yet realized the importance of industrial design. They do not realize that the design of a product is good or bad. It not only concerns the survival of the company, but also concerns the survival of other companies related to the enterprise, as well as the family members of the company’s employees. The quality of life has a major relationship with the economic development and stability of the entire society. The emphasis on practice is also reflected in the standardization of commissioned design operations. As early as in the 1960s, the form of the Japanese design contract was proposed and improved (with a sample of a standard design contract provided by JIDA in 1999), and today, many industrial design majors in China’s universities have not. The establishment of courses on design contracts has various forms of social contracts. It is no wonder that students do not understand design practices after graduation and often run into troubles.

Furthermore, the Japanese design community closely follows the development of society. The research direction of JIDA has been closely linked to the national situation from the very beginning. Changes in social life can immediately receive attention from designers and form topics for discussion, forming theories. The characteristics of our country’s society are based on the needs of the world rather than the people. In this way, we can design products that truly meet the needs of our people, have national characteristics, and can face the world. Are we not always mentioning "Chinese characteristics"? What is China's design features in the end, I think this is worth thinking in the Chinese design community. If a country's design has no characteristics, there will be no soul, and it will never be the strongest player in the world of design. Even if Japan's design is a high-tech product, it can reflect the unique emotional and aesthetic needs of the Japanese.

Dahe Nationality is a nation with a very strong sense of urgency. Maybe some people think this is a manifestation of “little family anger”, but I think that if a designer lacks a sense of crisis, it is very difficult to calm down and carefully observe the society and discover its own characteristics. Can stand at a height to see his surroundings without compromising on ordinary life. The Chinese designers who keep such conscious awareness in their minds today have extremely high cultural qualities and exuberant creativity. Every day, a large number of foreign products are changing our lives, why not let our own products become the mainstream of change in power?