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History of PAOS:the 2000s

  • Prehistoric PAOS:the 1960
  • the 1970s
  • the 1980s
  • the 1990s
  • the 2000s

PAOS moves forward (representative examples of work and research developments):The Noughties

'00

2000 onwards
The establishment of World Good Design Inc.

World Good Design Inc. was established with the support of numerous investors who were attracted by the organizations proposal, which stated that: "The bid to establish a culture powerhouse that will garner respect in a truly mature society should start with design." The core mission of the new organization was to collect information on the many good design awards systems of the world and compile a database of such information, archives from which would be published so as to furnish materials for education and planning in the 21st century. The organization was also charged with promoting and encouraging the incorporation of outstanding designs from around the world into the clothing, food and housing of ordinary people, and with fleshing out winning designs from Japan's awards both domestically and internationally with a view to improving standards of beauty in day-to-day life and of developing a new design movement.
Reflecting its desire to raise awareness of design among and increase the aesthetic sensibilities of a wide range of recipients as opposed to simply furnishing the demands of the companies and designers who create these designs, its members are known as "designists". Its policy is to build design as social infrastructure into the fabric of ordinary people's lives instead of limiting its use to industry pundits (www.WorldGoodDesign.net).

'01

Publication of "Create, Attract & Exceed" – a new print format for the information age

"Create, Attract and Exceed: A Guideline for Structurally-Recessed Companies" (Kiko Shobo Publishing) adopts a new format: the text is printed in book-form; the color plates are available for viewing on the internet. While this format is not ubiquitous, its use does present some interesting possibilities. Readers can purchase the text at a low price and use the internet to browse the numerous color plates as they desire. The writers, meanwhile, have the freedom to replace images even after the book goes to press, and are also able to offer moving images.
This work was published at the very start of the new century and incorporates a wealth of information on NAKANISHI's activities and the theories that underpin his thinking.

A project to support administrative reform and economic stimulation packages

The ministry of economy, trade and industry was instituted as an independent administrative agency as the result of central government reforms and this led to PAOS' involvement in visual identity projects for Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI) and the National Institute of Technology and Evaluation (NITE). This move was also a new administrative reform. With their five-year deadlines, the handful of national projects involving the Industrial Revitalization Corporation of Japan (IRCJ), were also characteristic of PAOS work during this period.

Brand strategy a resounding success for the "Yamaguchi Kirara Expo"

To usher in the 21st century, local expos were staged in three areas: Fukushima, Kita-Kyushu and Yamaguchi. It was rumored that Yamaguchi would find it most difficult to attract visitors, but NAKANISHI was president of the jury that would judge entrants for the Yamaguchi Kirara Expo logo design and he was subsequently appointed design advisor to the Expo. NAKANISHI set out to introduce, raise awareness on and develop a comprehensive design strategy. He even ended up accepting a commission to produce the official poster design. But the double poster featuring the words and illustration of Mr. Tsurutaro KATAOKA was widely acclaimed, and the planned "official" poster was never produced and this poster was used throughout the expo. Moreover, because the quality of the design was subject to rigorous quality control and guidance from beginning to end, visitors during the closing days of the expo reached treble the level of the Kita-Kyushu expo and the Yamaguchi event ultimately recorded record numbers of visitors and profits.

'02

Bungo-Oyama Hibikinosato: epoch-making success in local authority revitalization

The town of Oyama in Oita prefecture lies deep in the mountains on the border with the prefectures of Kumamoto and Fukuoka. While it is famous as the birthplace of the progressive one village-one product campaign, at the time, the community had no accommodation facilities whatsoever. Meanwhile, as the town was busily constructing the physical infrastructure, NAKANISHI had a meeting with Mr. Akira SANADA, a close friend from Fukuoka, and Mr. Zenpachiro MITOMA, mayor of OYAMA, at the end of which, it was suggested that PAOS be commissioned to introduce a CI.
PAOS enlisted the help of Mr. Akihiko KIMURA. Twenty-eight plant species were selected from among those found on an area of land that had been created by local youngsters; these were combined to develop a logo that would symbolize local promotional efforts (design: Mr. Norito SHINMURA), and a visual identity established and refined. Named "Bungo-Oyama Hibikinosato", the facility, which opened bang in the middle of a hot spring mecca, an area where customers are fought for over tooth and nail, met its visitor target for the first year within five months. This project became a representative example of best practice in the era of regional hegemony, and as a result of the policy of consolidating smaller municipalities, Oyama and Hita became merged.

'03

The start of courses at Ark Toshijuku in the Roppongi Hills complex

This year saw the birth of Roppongi Hills, a massive complex that has been dubbed a new Tokyo landmark. The Academyhills "Ark Toshijuku" courses that had been held since 1988 in Ark Hills, Akasaka at the request of Mr. Taikichiro MORI the founder of Mori Building, the company that owns the Roppongi Hills complex, were also relocated to the 49th floor of the main building. Coincidentally, NAKANISHI began offering a course at Art Toshijuku at the request of its director: Mr. Seichiro YONEKURA, (professor of the Hitotsubashi University Innovation Center). Entitled "Brand Strategy Management", the course has been attended by a broad cross-section of people, including 19-year-old university students and a 68-year-old company president. The course, which regularly incorporates new approaches, has been well received and it continues to be held on a semi-annual basis.
It also led to the formation of a network of personal contacts that would be hard to come by elsewhere. The school has been the catalyst for a serious reassessment of the importance of developing human resources utilizing the materials, experience and know-how that PAOS has accumulated down the years.

Developing a visual identity for the Industrial Revitalization Corporation of Japan, an organization seeking to bring aesthetics into the business of corporate resuscitation

PAOS was commissioned to develop a visual identity and aesthetically-pleasing stationery for the Industrial Revitalization Corporation of Japan (IRCJ), the organization that had been given a limited timeframe to pull Japan out of the deflationary quagmire into which it had descended following the bursting of the economic bubble.
Through this organization, PAOS attempted to incorporate into its work the idea of companies as superlative image marketers adhering to "standards of beauty" rather than simply effecting the economic restructuring of targeted companies. Regrettably, however, these expectations could not be given full rein and the concept of revitalization utilizing a company's aesthetic qualities has undeniably fallen by the wayside.

'04

2004 onwards
Japan's Liveliest Company Project, Yamaguchi Prefecture

PAOS was retained on the "Japan's Liveliest Company Project", an unusual two-year program that was the official brainchild of the Yamaguchi government. The project was launched with a view to raising awareness of brand and design strategies among small and medium-sized enterprises operating in the prefecture in a bid to jump-start the local economy. In the end, two companies were selected from the twenty that had indicated their wish to be considered for the project. One was Shimonoseki Shuzo, a sake manufacturer whose business had declined with the decline of the industry; the other: Fujimitsu Kamaboko Kogyo, had a history spanning 120 years and was seeking to evolve into the next generation even as it preserved a traditional local industry. "Kaikyo" the sake brand developed for the former with a completely new taste and design was well received and created quite a furor when it entered the Tokyo market. This represents a typical example of a "system design" project. The project for Fujimitsu Kamaboko Kogyo is ongoing.

The "From Japan: Good Designs & Brands 2004 in Shanghai" exhibition

The "From Japan: Good Designs & Brands 2004 in Shanghai" exhibition was staged in the Shanghai Library exhibition hall with the cooperation of PAOS Shanghai. The exhibition focused on corporate designs developed for the likes of Nissan, Canon, INAX, Pioneer and C.I. Kasei, and featured representative works from the Japan Jewelry Designers Association, Cuusoo Seikatsu and World Good Design. A panel exhibition featuring winners of good design awards from around the world, which were selected from the WGD archives, captured the attention of young Chinese designers and university students.
Shiro NAKAMURA, chief designer at Nissan, was invited to give the main lecture and the symposium also caused quite a stir.

The start of a series of Waseda University projects

At the invitation of Mr. Katsuaki OHASHI, a professor at Waseda University (director of the Aizu Yaichi Museum and the former director of the faculty of literature), NAKANISHI met with Mr. Katsuhiko SHIRAI, the university's president, a meeting that led to the inauguration of a research laboratory (Strategic Design Institute; director: Professor Shinya NAGASAWA) to look into the "Strategic Design Faculty (tentative name) Proposal" ahead of the university's 125th anniversary (October 2007); NAKANISHI was also appointed visiting professor.
This led to PAOS' involvement in a series of projects at Waseda – the birthplace of PAOS and NAKANISHI's alma mater, including lectures at the Open Education Center, which is open to students from the Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies (Waseda Business School) and to undergraduates from all faculties, involvement in an educational reform project to split the science and engineering faculty into three departments: essential, creative and advanced, the proposal of a name for the new department that was to be added onto the literature faculty: "School of Culture, Media and Society", designs for the Waseda Gallery and Information Square that had been built near the university's main gate, development of a visual identity for the sports science faculty, and the advancement of a university identity (UI).
In 2006, NAKANISHI took up a position in the university's public relations office and was given an impressive office alongside the Tsubouchi Memorial Theater Museum. The use of PAOS' experience, data resources and know-how in personnel training will not stop at Waseda University; instead, we are busy laying the groundwork for a network of universities and faculties that spans both design and management areas.

'05

2005 onwards
Revitalizing LUMINE with a philosophy-driven CI

"LUMINE'S IDEA", a project developed over the course of a year, was announced to the public. It combined Lumine's philosophy: "The Life Value Presenter: we anticipate customers' desires and fulfill their expectations" and principles and, in corresponding to a revolution in value systems, made us acutely aware of the dawning of an age in which philosophy-driven policies will become increasingly necessary.
In recent years, the projects based on a mature society within an advanced information and communications network that we have worked on have proved expansive, but work that simply demands short-sighted development of cosmetic and superficial designs holds few prospects. It must be said that: "in the bid to develop projects that will create cutting-edge values, philosophy comes first".

'06

2006-2007
35 years of fixed point photography of West Shinjuku

Commencing in 1968, the long, 35-year project to take fixed point images of West Shinjuku came to the attention of the world in the form of an exhibition: "Fixed Point Photographs of West Shinjuku: pulse of the city – 35 years of dramatic change", which was held in January in the 1st-floor gallery of the Park Hyatt building in West Shinjuku. It showcased the results of the matter-of-fact recording of the rise of the Keio Plaza Hotel on the site of the old Yodobashi Purification Plant and the formation of Japan's first skyscraper district.
This exhibition proved unexpectedly popular and was particularly busy on weekends, when the crowds resembled rush-hour traffic. Against all expectations, there were few designers or architects among the visitors to the exhibition; it was the general public who came in droves. It was as if the visitors were having a personal psychological experience, weaving their own histories into the story told by images of the dramatic rise of West Shinjuku's skyscrapers.
Questionnaires were completed by many visitors, which resulted in an encore exhibition, by popular demand, in March. As the recorders of the process, PAOS was the base of activities, and we were amazed at the unexpected results produced by our dogged determination to keep records no matter what, a decidedly low-profile activity.
In due course, the collection of photographs was published as "Fixed Point Photographs of West Shinjuku: The Beating Pulse of West Shinjuku's Skyscraper District: Pulse of the City- 35 Years of Dramatic Change" by the publishing house "Gyosei". A further upshot of the exhibition was the birth of the "West Shinjuku District Project", which was conceived by an association comprising the owners of key buildings in the area with the idea of pondering its evolution over the coming years. PAOS received requests to get involved and had a third exhibition and symposium in February 2007.

PAOS is currently working on a number of interesting projects and we will make information on these projects available as soon as it becomes possible to do so.


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