Kokuyo Design Award 2006

Sometimes in my blog I post links to the biggest stationery maker in Japan, "KOKUYO". I look forward to checking their KOKUYO design award every year to see unique ideas and imagine which ones will be real products later.

This is the result of the KOKUYO design award 2006. The winner is this "Slice". It's a sticky which looks like a red onion. They said its color changes like a real vegetable (maybe lighter color?), so that you can know how long you’ve left it. Hm, it's great, isn't? I packed SAKE to take to the U.S. I was so annoyed with sealing tape. So I am impressed with this crast-tapecrast-tape. You know how it's nice to know the center of the tape when you pack. Which one will be a real product of KOKUYO? Hmm, the Slice would be difficult to make, and the crast-tape or TAS (paper cup with writable scratch red circle) would be easy to make, however regular tape and cups are sold in 100yen shops everywhere...So maybe "leafusen" ? (Fusen is sticky in Japanese) They can sell a "white tree board" for leafusen too. Don't you think it'll be a nice idea?

Anyway in this "Kimokawaii" post. Greg left a very interesting comment.　I agree with him 290%. All my American friends said young Japanese have only two words for something they like: they are only Kawaii (cute) or Kakkoii (cool). They said girls call them "Kawaii!!" whatever they do. Eating hamburgers at Mac, asking the way to the station, especially talking in Japanese, they have to be called "Kawaii!!" Then from guys and boys, they are called "kakkoii!" A)"I am American." J)"Wow Kakkoii!" A)"I ate ramen today," J)"Kakkoii!" I am not kidding. You should come here to check it.

Comments

[McAuliflower]

can you help me (non-Japanese speaker) understand more about what the leafusen is intended to do?

It seems to change color depending on how old it is?

thanks

[Mari]

Hi Adam
It is just an idea for this design award just right now. I am not sure it will be products for sale in the future. Kokuyo decides it.

[Adam Kuban]

Mari: Do you know if this cute onion-theme notepad is available for sale? Is this just a prototype design or is it in stores now?

Thanks for posting about such a cute item!

[clarence]

Don't forget やばい。 But all my Japanese mates have rather impressive vocabularies and I can't really agree with the above comments.

[Mari]

Hi there
Yes Sugoi is anothre almighty word. At that point, "domo" is magic word too, "domo" can work as thank you, sorry, excuse me, hello, good by. right?

[Esther]

It *does* sort of look like "You Suck!" Too funny. I suspect that the "You" is really "12/24."

[danielmick]

How about うまい "umai" and おいしい "oishii"? I now truly believe there are no other descriptors in Japanese to describe food. I absolutely love all the food shows in Japan. But it kills me every time they scream "umai" or "oishii".

In English there are numerous synonyms for "delicious" thesaurus=delicious Besides that, I find that most English speakers (especially those who taste food for a living on television...) use a wide variety of words to describe a food they are tasting. What does the viewer gain from when the taster screams "delicious" for every single thing he eats? How about some REAL descriptions, please?

[claytonian]

anyone notice the lefusen says, "you suck" ?!

anyhoo, my japanese kids all say すげい　(or maybe a nihonjin would write it すげいっ) instead of kakkoi or kawaii. But they are elementary students in Saga-ken...