[Title] HERMÈS on STRIPES
[Artist] Kenya Hara
[Date] June 9 – July 3, 2011
This window display has been developed at the same time as the new Hermès undertaking “petit h” (the petit h – an atelier of recreation). Appearing in this space are windows engineered to rouse the slumbering innocence, playful spirit and free will of childhood from the hearts of all those who see it. Taking charge of this project was the graphic designer Kenya Hara. The result is a window that while graphical in structure also generates a sense of impact and drive seen only in such three-dimensional expertise, while likewise brimming in buoyancy.
Within this unique window dimension, thin and narrow poles are clustered together like a veritable forest of stripes. Filled with these minutely positioned columns, the space stands out conspicuously in the formation of a checkered pattern. Then, as the eyes move to the front of the window, coming into view for the first time are the Hermès products that have been strategically placed amidst the thicket of pole-shaped columns. The perspective shifts to the right, to the center, to the left. In this design, only the patterns formed by the columns in front catch the eye at one point. Likewise, only the products resting deeper within the forest come into view when seen from different angles.
Due to the delicate and detailed placement of the poles that depict such a pattern, simply shifting the point of view generates completely different landscapes. Though a single window, each movement by the viewer is guaranteed to generate new visual surprises.
Further complementing this design, rooted in linear calculations that empower the products to slip in and out of view, are contrasting colors and patterns. At times, this transforms the stripe-like columns into surfaces, releasing intense visual effects. Also presented here are 16 small windows crafted through the same basic approach. Each of these spaces projects its own distinctive visual presence, with a stroll in front of these displays thereby enabling the viewer to relish a diversified range of expressions emerging from the same basic window concept.
Kenya Hara
Graphic designer born in 1958, currently serving as Representative Director of Nippon Design Center Inc. and a professor at Musashino Art University. In his creative activities, he strives to concurrently stress the importance of the design dimensions of both “things” and “circumstances.” His exploits are by no means limited to the graphics field, and he is also active in corporate art direction and numerous other project realms. Kenya Hara continues to unveil a steady stream of exhibitions that clearly manifest his desire to breath new life into the domains of “Re-Design,” “Haptic,” “Senseware” and other vibrant new values. His recent writings Designing Design and White have been translated into many different languages, helping to cultivate a wide following for his work overseas as well.