thinkers’ ooo Vol. 6-10 collec

An eco-friendly choice

“I first heard the concept of ‘no animal experiments’ a few years ago and was deeply impacted after gaining further understanding. Now, I seem to have new insight when purchasing my day-to-day items! I may have concerns about this brand, that one may also be not ideal, etc. I no longer just consider price and function when making purchases. I did feel a little inconvenienced initially. Pushing me to seek out more European and American brands and KEVIN.MURPHY was the treasure I uncovered!

KEVIN.MURPHY’s products are mainly “hair care products.” Their raw materials are derived from organic planting or ecologically harmless field collection. No animal experiments are done, and their packaging uses the least plastic. Their research and development strives to be all-around friendly to the earth. These ideals have already made me a fan, not to mention their beautiful square packaging and appealing colors are also quite pleasing to the eye. Their products are like artwork in the bathroom, making bath time more sophisticated.

Although all we buy are products and services, the public has now realized that “consumption behavior itself has meaning.” Therefore, the concepts and values behind brands become more important when communicating with consumers. KEVIN.MURPHY once declared that it would make 100% of its product packaging from recycled marine waste plastics. Still, in December of this year, it admitted that this goal was not achieved and publicly apologized and promised to make more efforts to achieve its vision of environmental friendliness. Their immediate, transparent, honest, and responsible attitude also made me believe that buying from the brand was not just a monetary exchange, but an effort to build an ideal world with the brand." — Lynn / Brand Planner

《KEVIN.MURPHY》

The founder Kevin Murphy is a well-known hairstylist from Australia, known for his iconic beach hairstyles. However, he realized that the products on the market did not meet his needs and decided to develop his own product line to uphold his commitment to environmental friendliness.

Step in your own high heels

The “GIFT” in my collection contains the photographic creations by Mari Katayama from 2012 to now. She is a photographic artist who had amputations and deformed hands due to a rare disease since she was a child. GIFT means “gift” in English and “poison” in German. Mari Katayama has suffered from the limitations of an incomplete body since childhood and uses her body as a creative outlet, surpassing her physical limits with art. Her art fully embodies the contradiction and duality implied by the word GIFT.

Rather than saying I admire her work, strong emotions are evoked by her aloof spirit. Since childhood, Mari Katayama longed to wear her mother’s high heels and walk freely, just like other women. So she put on prosthetics that she painted, wove, and reassembled. For her, a prosthesis is not only an assistive device. It serves as a pair of high-heeled shoes that can stand in secular society, an escape from the stares of others, and symbolizes the beauty and dignity of women.

Selfies are the most common creative technique used by Mari Katayama. She “stands” expressionlessly in various scenes such as in rooms, grasslands, seasides, and roadsides with bizarre and fantastic prosthetics, like the ancient beasts depicted in “The Classic of Mountains and Seas.” She stands proudly with aching and unattainable beauty.

Faced with her own incompleteness, she embraces her own deformities and reconciles with them again and again. In her own account of the creation process of “GIFT,” Mari Katayama stated, “Art is a ladder that takes me across an inconceivable wall or a bullet that destroys an insurmountable wall." — Summer / Brand Planner

《Mari Katayama》

A photographer, born in 1987 in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. Due to her congenital disabilities, she developed her own unique aesthetic point of view, discussing topics such as body image and self-identity. In 2019, she released her first personal photo collection, “GIFT,” which has been affirmed by many international and domestic photography awards. She is currently highly active in the art world. (Website: http://shell-kashime.com/)

entury-old art and craft of shoemaking from Kurame

Moonstar is my favorite Japanese shoe brand. So far, I have purchased five pairs of their canvas shoes (chuckle). Besides being simple, stylish, durable, and practical shoes, I am also intrigued by their brand history of nearly 150 years. These simple canvas shoes originated from a small town in Fukuoka. They accompanied Japan through many historical moments, including World War II, the Asian Games, the Olympics, and the first polar expedition, etc. They marched into modern industrial history, have become a part of daily Japanese life, and are known as the “Japanese national shoe.”

Moonstar has used “Time With Pride” as its slogan in recent years. The brand designed a beautiful dynamic timeline website presenting its century of history. Browsing it is like exploring a captivating and historical museum. Recently, I have been helping a customer with a traditional company to rebrand. Moonstar’s brand design has inspired me to use “time” to promote their brand, use stories to add allure, and enhance the brand’s emotional value. — Summer / Brand Planner

《Moonstar》

Founded in 1873 by the king of Jika-tabi - Unpei Kurata, Moonstar was born in Kurume City, Fukuoka Prefecture, a major town in the Japanese rubber industry. With its exclusive vulcanization method as its core technology, it has continued to innovate and improve over the past century. Its product lines now encompass all ages. It is a pioneer in the Japanese footwear industry, and “Made In Kurume” is printed on every pair of Moonstar shoes. (Website: https://reurl.cc/9r7WdO)

​​The Taisho Romantic Era

I became interested in Yumeji Takehisa because of the exhibition description at an art museum I visited when I traveled to Japan. I was deeply attracted by the elegant female forms and art deco style in the images. Most of the women depicted by Yumeji Takehisa reflect delicate and fragile melancholic beauty. A strong Taisho romantic vibe can be sensed from the clothes and scenes surrounding the subjects.

In addition to numerous portraits of “Yumeji Beauties,” Yumeji Takehisa has handled nearly 300 book bindings. He can be described as a pioneer in the history of modern Japanese binding. From his artwork, we can observe how Western styles deeply influenced Japanese art and graphic design. In his time, traditional art, especially Japanese paintings, was rapidly merging with commercial art from the West. This era was also the starting point for the modernization of Japanese graphic design.

The woodblock printing work I purchased this time, “The Girl of Wakakusa,” came from the cover of the first issue of the female literary magazine “Wakakusa,” published in 1918. It was printed and distributed in limited quantities by the official “Minatoya Painted Papyrus Shop.” Yumeji Takehisa has continued to create many wonderful covers for “Wakakusa” in the past few years. I am so fascinated by Yumeji Takehisa, because in addition to his captivating characters, I also love his sometimes realistic and sometimes abstract design style. Everything presents a unique atmosphere combining the Western and the Taisho era and his classic works are still fashionable even hundreds of years later. — Ariel / Visual Designer

《Taisho Romantic》

For a short period of time, Japan welcomed prosperity after the Meiji Restoration, and eagerly embraced Western modernism and emphasized the liberation of human nature. All kinds of artistic thoughts were contending, and new art forms and openness flourished in society. It was a prosperous and stable period. This Western-influenced style was also fully reflected in the architecture, life, and eating habits of the time. Western styles were incorporated based on Japanese traditions - this is the unique “Japanese romance” of the Taisho period.

A visual feast of desserts

I unintentionally saw an eye-catching dessert in a friend’s newsfeed. I was shocked when I saw it. How could it be so adorable and stunning, with its unique dots and lines? With minimum colors, modern, and French style, it stood out from other desserts on the market. I really wanted to try each cake, and I wanted to know how they were made. Later, I saw they offered an online course, and although I am an inexperienced baker, I wanted to find out more, so I mustered up the courage to sign up.

When I first saw the red flower mousse cake, I was attracted by its playful color scheme and flowers. Although I am a novice, I still knew that mousse cake and mirror glaze are challenging to make. I was afraid that I would not be able to keep up. Fortunately, the teacher led everyone through each step. Some more complicated steps would also be prepared by the teacher in advance. She gave detailed instructions to guide everyone. The whole process was comfortable and casual, but we were a bit too relaxed for a while because our group’s jelly failed when it was supposed to solidify.

The cakes were completed before the end of the course. While waiting for them to be packaged, everyone chatted freely and shared about their love for baking. I learned during our chat that the teacher also used to work in a design-related industry. After working for a few years, she took her design aesthetics, applied her experience into dessert creation, and even studied abroad to pursue her dreams. So awesome! I look forward to seeing our teacher’s creations in the future, and I would like to try other cake design courses. — Ting / Brand Designer

《En pâtisserie》

Initially a designer, her specialties include website front-end design, multimedia design, and interactive art. She has won all types of awards. She is good at creating both physical and virtual pieces, and when she is tired of creating in the virtual world, she turns to physical design, and accumulates design vision in this conversion process.

Why did you embark on the path of cooking/dessert making? I was attracted by various colorful ingredients that could be designed like a pantone swatch. The same is true for desserts. Each dessert has its own story and design concept. If it’s food that you love, do not consider the cost of the ingredients. I believe that is the only way to make good art to share.

Now, I am a designer with dessert as my medium, a lecturer teaching about French desserts, the manager of En patisserie, an amateur photographer of food, and Ryan’s mother.

Want to know more about our new column thinkers’ ooo? Follow think’s Facebook page for more: https://www.facebook.com/brandbythink

thinkers’ ooo 1-5: https://reurl.cc/9p9Kov
thinkers’ ooo 6–10: https://reurl.cc/2mOdM9
thinkers’ ooo 11-15: https://reurl.cc/ERv9Kn