Inspired by Inrō

An inro collection from British Museum

I enjoy contemplating the beauty of inrō (Japanese:印籠) for their high art and immense craftsmanship. I love the feel, the smoothness, the detailed incisions that give them life and expression. Made of a variety of materials, including wood, ivory, bone, and lacquer, they provide me invaluable inspiration while designing a fine object, especially a perfume bottle.

An inrō is a traditional Japanese case for holding small objects, such as medicines, identity seals, tobacco and pipes. The stack of boxes is held together by a cord that runs through cord runners down one side, under the bottom, and up the opposite side. The ends of the cord are secured to a netsuke (Japanese: 根付), a toggle that is passed between the sash and pants and then hooked over the top of the sash to suspend the inrō. The making of an inro is a highly-skilled process, as each compartment has to fit smoothly into the next. They figured importantly as signs of status in the upper-class male wardrobe in Edo Period.

As an advocate of high-art aesthetics, I was pleased to see some marvelous inro at “A Sensibility to the Seasons: Summer and Autumn in Japanese Art “, an exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Exquisite and elegant, they were filled with pools of light shining through inviting you to appreciate–––the artistry within Edo society of the time.

The Cabin Woven by Hand, with Heart 用心編織的小木屋

The cabin, was woven simply by craftsmen, stick by stick like the rhythm of a heartbeat. As a designer, I understand that it's impossible to replicate the special quality that comes from something made by hand, with heart.

We spent a great deal of time walking around admiring this woven cabin in Habitation Murat, the largest sugar cane plantation in Guadeloupe in 1839 and now an eco-museum of arts and traditions in Marie Galante.

The Blessing 祝福

剛從歐洲抵達大雪茫茫的紐約，便隨即登門造訪位在中國城的推拿師父。師父喜氣洋洋地和我道聲“恭禧發財”，我才恍然大悟原來中國新年也已來訪。

中文的讀者們，在此獻上我的“祝福”。

Right after arriving in the snow-blanked New York city from Europe, I went to see my Chinese Tui Na therapist in Chinatown. Only after she cheerfully opened the door to greet me "Gong Xi Fa Cai", I realized that Chinese Lunar New Year is here TOO ...

A sincere blessing (祝福) from me for the Chinese readers.

Inspired by The Sea Urchin

One day we anchored in Nonsuch Bay to the South-West of Green Island, an uninhabited island just off the east coast of Antigua. We drove our dinghy over to this beautiful island to explore. I was all over the moon as soon as I set foot in it, and discovered piles of sea urchin shells (tests) lying on the pristine white sand secluded beaches.

The sea urchin, so dangerous yet beautiful, so odd and interesting, serves as an explicit message of paradox and surprise.

As a designer, I admire its alluring form presenting aspects of sharp and smooth for tactile and aesthetic experiences. Many of my designer fellows have came up with witty design objects inspired by the sea urchin such as the interior accessories, jewelry, perfume bottles, etc.

As a food lover, I love the sea urchin's buttery texture, rich and briny with a sweet, mildly fruity finish, and I like to eat it raw with lemon, or soy sauce and wasabi. In the hot summer time in New York, I often treat myself a cool, delicious Uni Soba (sea urchin buckwheat noodles in Japanese) at Soba-Ya.

Just before leaving Green Island, I bent down and picked up a few sea urchin shells, which I can display on the bookshelf of my home to remind myself of the sensation of the Caribbeans.

Celebrate the Sunset with Rhum

Ti'Punch, mixed with Rhum, can sugar, and lime juice, may be the most well-known drink in the French-speaking Caribbean states.

After an exhausting yet enthralling sailing day, we often celebrated the sunset with a few glasses of Ti'Punch on our boat. All crew members agreed that, substituting passion fruit juice for lime juice, emphasizes more the exotic, tropical flavor of Rhum, a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane by products such as molasses and sugarcane juice.

In perfumery, Rhum can be explored to interpret the festive mood and the influence of masculine. To name a few of fragrances with rhum in: Guerlain Homme, Locoste Pour Homme, Lolita Lempicka Au Musculin, Hugo Man, and Lubin Indole Du Lubin.

I have no preference for the fragrances, but I'm in favor of the packaging design of Hugo Man: crisp clean and undeniable masculine, just like a slick and beautiful Monohull sailboat.

Good-Bye to My Summer Provence (III)

Mons, Provence

Fayence, Provence

Fayence, Provence

Sketch for typical Provencal chimneys

Sketch for typical Provencal roofs

French Provencal Architecture

In Provence I liked to go outside and walk a bit, long enough to forget my worries in New York, long enough to exercise my eyes and mind as I explored in the French Provencal villages, fascinated by the old buildings with their tranquility and sense of timelessness.

To retain the best of the old French Provencal country lifestyle, Architect de France imposes an architectural guideline for rehabilitation and new construction in these historic villages like Flayosc, Tourtour, Mons, etc. The shape, color, height, width, materials and location of the architectural elements, such as chimneys, roofs, columns, windows, and doors, are intended to create a vibrant homogeneous Provencal village, with enough variation to allow individuality and expression of personal taste.

While the number of Beijing hutongs (北京胡同) has dropped dramatically as they are demolished to make way for new roads and buildings, I feel blessed to be able to enjoy the best-kept Provencal surroundings––the land painted by Paul Cezanne and Vincent Van Gogh.

Good-bye to My Summer Provence (II)

The Sun-kissed clothes
In Provence, any small village like Mouans-Sartoux, clothes hanging is a work of art. With the colorful walls as background, it can be associated with the vivid mobile art by the American artist Alexander Calder.
Clothes hanging takes on a life on its own. Towels flap and snap. Pants dance. Shirts shudder. And under the bright and cheerful sun, it is filled with the relaxing scent of slow and eco-friendly lifestyle.

My Eight Wonders in Goms, Switzerland–––The Raccards #6 / 瑞士Goms的八大驚奇–––瑞士穀倉 #6

The Raccards

These traditional granaries, laden with the moist scent of old wood, threshed grains, and rustic farm tools, add a fairy vignette to the landscape of the Swiss Alps.

The circular stone slabs, intercalated between the stilts and the granary, is a creative design solution for the local farmers to keep the stored food from the desperately hungry mice.

Fireworks–the Paintings in the Night Sky

My fascination with fireworks goes back to my childhood on the Chinese Lunar New Year and Moon Festival. As a kid, I was triggered by the sound, light, and smell of the magic of gunpowder. I remember lighting my first firecracker, half excited and half scared, with my eyes wide open. 

Today I feed my passion by watching fireworks. There is art to create a good fireworks display–colors, shapes, and sounds complement one another.  A stunning fireworks design requires a wizard who masters and wields the fleeting art overhead. Mixing science, art and technology, the wizard paints on the big, open nighttime sky with his palettes–chemicals, compounds, and fire.

As much fun as they are to watch, fireworks are equally as challenging to photograph. Here are my shots when I watched Switzerland's Independence Day fireworks in Basel yesterday.

To All My Loved Ones...

To all my loved ones...

Have fun with "One Mighty Drop", a perfume campaign created by Fragrance Foundation. 

Love to see your design too!

In the Mood for Light

In Helsinki, light is the sensation of sea breezes and clear crystals, pure and crisp with a hint of birch dancing with violet, mandarin, and cardamom.

By the way, don't you think this image look like a window display by Van Cleef & Arpels, a French jewelry company renowned for its nature-inspired design?

Blink!

Photo by Della Chuang, Finland

Taste the Rainbow in the Alps

 After sipping a few glasses of white and red wine, Della's photos were getting blurry and blurry.

We had an unforgetful New Year Eve dinner at Gasthaus Speiserestaurant in the Swiss Alps.

The eight-course meal, created by the talented chef Friedrich Zemanek, resembled a GESAMTKUNSTWERK, addressed to all the senses and  was served by all sorts of auxiliary arts relating to the flower arrangements, the dinnerware and the cutlery, and the visual presentation of the edible. As for the food itself, it completely aroused our appetite s through its colors, smell, consistency and even sound (e.g. crispy aliments).

Though it was a cold starry night, the taste of the food brought us joy --- like a warm and colorful rainbow in the blue sky.

I am passing the warmest regards to you from the chef Zemanek --- Happy New Year.

Perspective 觀點

New York Downtown Style: Chinese version vs. Taiwanese version

The old Egyptians drew the head in profile but rendered the eye as if it were on a front view – the body is more recognizable from front than side. However, arms and legs are more clearly described from the side.

Cubism combined glances taken from different angles at different moments into a single composition. A picture that wasn’t meant to look like anything but itself.

My first book New York Downtown Style (bilingual), first introduced to the reader in 2006, is now released in China with a new design by the Hong Kong born graphic designer Lu Zhi-Chang (Simplified Chinese: 陆智昌). Looking back and forth between the first and second covers, I could sense the difference from each other in composition, temperament, and tempo. In Lu's work (the left image), forms are more solid, enigmatic, and cooler. And to Lou Hsin-Mei (Traditional Chinese: 羅心梅), her approaches are more joyful , funkier and sweeter.

Different cultures, different times, different designers – different points of view.

A Rose Is Not a Rose 不是玫瑰的玫瑰

The American historian Alice Morse Earle wrote, "The fragrance of the sweetest rose is beyond an other flower scent, it is irresistible, enthralling; you cannot leave it. I have never doubted the rose has some compelling quality not shared by other flowers...". Seen in this light, the fragrance experts claim that the rose perfume creates a mysterious atmosphere and state of mind conducive to romance.

Although the words rose and fragrance go together like hand and glove, rose is my least favorite scent. I rather exclaim over color and beauty of a rose in a full bloom than smelling it from a perfume bottle. More than any other sense, smells keenly evoke memories and feelings for me.

A rose fragrance with gourmet touches makes me ill. Worn by a person who easily lost himself in the rage. It’s truly a horrible smell!

Last night, in a gallery opening on Broome Street in SoHo, I was having a drink and gazing at the artwork in the fashion crowd. A peculiar rose smell suddenly hit my nose and it was like a nasal déjà vu – I shivered, a chill rushed down my spine. I had to leave right away because the sickening smell permeated my nostrils.

To me, a rose doesn’t lose its color in the rain, but it does lose its fragrance in my olfactory memory.

Inspired by René François Ghislain Magritte, I conjured up an image of rose in a contradictive context : the rose is not a rose, because it does not smell.

Do You Hear My Design? 你聽出了我的設計嗎？

It's known that music can respond and appeal directly to an artist's "internal element" and express spiritual values. On writing, the French poet Charles Baudelaire affirmed that "scents, colors and sounds answer one another". On painting, the Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky had this to say:

"Color is the keyboard, the eyes are the harmonies, the soul is the piano with many strings. The artist is the hand that plays, touching one key then another to cause vibration in the soul. It is therefore evident that color harmony must rely only on a corresponding vibration in the human soul."

If scent is the music for our nose, color is the music for our eyes.

I don't have a good ear to listen, but I appreciate music. Music allows me a freedom of imagination, interpretation, and emotional response on my design. I especially feel attracted to Bach, whose works are greatly admired for their intellectual depth, technical command and artistic beauty.

While working, I like to play Bach's music. I often picture myself walking through fields of paper, touching it with my pencil as if I'm composing the most enchanting music. To me, the organic and geometric shapes that I draw on my sketchbook are like Bach's musical notes that tangle with my joy and happiness.

I was enthralled by Kandinsky's curious gift of colour-hearing (synaesthesia), which he successfully translated onto canvas as "visual music". His artistic ambition got me thinking that, as a designer without the capacity to see sound and hear color, how I can conjure a visual presentation of music that illustrates the affinities between shapes and colors?

Therefore, I crabbed my pencil and started my musical adventure: I drew circles, triangles, and squares, one by one, and filled them in colors. Then, I made them sing with all the intensity I could to create a perfect visual harmony...

My dear readers, this is the creative process of this poster design that I pay homage to Kandinsky. Before you leave let me ask you. Do you hear my design?

Design with a Japanese Mind - A Conversation with Takeshi Wakabayashi 若林剛之

My name is Takeshi Wakabayashi
I owe a great deal to the nature of Kyoto.

When I need to be alone, I often take a stroll in Tadasu no Mori (糺の森), “the forest of truth”. I am happy and at peace with myself in this forest. It is natural, not pruned or planted by human beings. I also enjoy the late afternoon breeze in the spring. A kind of breeze is just like what the eccentric Zen Buddhist priest and poet Ikkyu Sojun (一休宗純, 1394-1481) described: “Break open a cherry tree and there are no flowers, but the spring breeze brings forth myriad blossoms”. The breeze carries away the day’s grievances of mine and puts me at ease.

From ancient times to the present, the Japanese people have celebrated the beauty of nature and the poignancy of its seasonal rhythm of the moon, the sakura blossom, the river and the forest. Inspired by nature impulses, they created meditations on the fleeting seasons of life and, through them, expressed essential truths about the nature of human experience.

Iki, the Japanese aesthetic ideal
The patterns of human experience forms culture, and the critical reflection on culture, art, and nature shapes aesthetics. Zen was formalized in China. Chan, as it is known in China, took root in Japan in the thirteenth century. Zen Buddhism’s emphasis on simplicity, emptiness, and the impermanence of the natural world generated a distinctive Japanese aesthetic. Therefore, the appreciation of nature has been fundamental to many Japanese aesthetic ideals, artistic expressions, and other cultural elements.

But the highly refined Japanese aesthetic sensibility is not only about the sensual appeal of elements of the natural world, but also about the human emotions it imbues them with. The main theme in Japanese aesthetics is that objects are alive and should be in harmony. Iki (いき, often written 粋), a traditional aesthetic ideal in Japan, illustrates this value of Japanese aesthetic.

Iki is not simply “Japanese things”. It can be used for almost anything, but especially for people. Iki is not found in nature itself, but can be found in the human act of appreciating the beauty of nature. Iki is associated with a thing or situation that is simple, improvised, straight, restrained, temporary, romantic, ephemeral, original, refined, inconspicuous, etc.; it can also be related to a person who is audacious, chic, pert, tacit, sassy, unselfconscious, calm, indifferent, unintentionally coquettish, open-minded, and restrained.

Satou Toshi-san, the owner of Tawaraya Ryokan in Kyoto, is the perfect example of Iki to me. I'm not only impressed by her personal style, but also influenced by her sense of fashion, architecture, taste, and hospitality. She is truly a pioneer in creating a new style inspired by Kyoto tradition!

Design with a Japanese mind
In my 20s, I used to be called “the American boy”, owing my obsession with Ralph Lauren's collection. But soon after turning 30, I started to question my running after Western fashion as a Japanese designer. Moreover, what is the “modern” Japanese style? Just like you, Della-san. Becuase you are educated in America, with roots in Asia, I don’t see you viewing art and literature only with the Western eyes, right?

The aesthetic system of Japan is significantly different from that of the West. For example:
• Contrary to the precise geometrical values in the Western world, Japanese use diagonal, rather than a centrally placed horizontal or vertical line when dividing a rectangle symmetrically.
• In the West, the pictorial quality is based on realm; in contrast, Japanese characterize the elements drawn from the natural world in an abstract from.
• The West worships a permanent beauty and a complex context; Japanese praise the beauty of nature and its harmonious simplicity.

As a designer, I am open to anything. But things that take full concentration and excessive training attract me the most, such as calligraphy, tea ceremony, and traditional craftsmanship. Therefore, inspired as I am by the sublime Japanese aesthetics, I see no need to adopt Western ideals. And as an upholder of the need to rediscover and appreciate Japanese traditional values, albeit in an apparently revolutionary guise, I established the “Made In Japan” brand – Sou • Sou.

Sou • Sou, pronounced as so – so in English, expresses the ultimate statement of Japanese lifestyle. It is a typical Japanese way to say the word when we make a nod to maintain a friendly and harmonious atmosphere during a conversation. Although the word doesn’t convey a meaning of “yes”, it implies “I agree with you” and “I understand you”.

Sou • Sou has always made the point: discovering and interpreting avant-garde art in Japan, and the roots that bind it to the cultural and aesthetic values of the country’s own tradition. It doesn’t matter if the design is for Jika-Tabi (split-toe shoes, 地下足袋) or textile; all of Sou • Sou’s works derive their aesthetic merit from the fact that it cannot be fully achieved without perfect execution!

Tradition is present
When I walked in the courtyard of Shimogamo Jinja, I saw the glow of sunset deepening and hanging on the torii gate . Even though Kyoto is a modern city of more than a million, the weight of history and the force of tradition have given the streets of the city an undeniable unified and harmonious atmosphere, beyond the well-known image of temples and geishas.

Tradition lives in the present, and it is our key to the past.

What Makes For a Bad Cover Design? 是啥弄壞了書本封面設計？

I like to hang out alone at the Strand Bookstore in lower Manhattan. Although Strand is well known as one of the busiest bookstores to entice the crowd of book bargainer hunters, I find that loitering around the congested passageways between its imposing shelves is peaceful and quiet. I appreciate the chance of being away from computers and conversation, and taking pleasure in a single activity – browsing the shelves for good book cover designs. As Strand call themselves the home of 18 miles of books, there are sure to be some hidden treasures.

A good cover design not only requires a smart title that delivers a purposeful message, but also an appealing visual that catches the reader’s attention. Once the reader lays eyes on the cover, there must be something to make him want to pick up the book, such as a clean distinctive typeface, a stunning image, an interesting texture, or contrasting colors on the cover. A good cover hooks the reader, but a bad cover makes him think twice.

But what makes for a bad cover design? In my humble opinion, the following are some crucial ingredients:
1. Too literal: I dislike an excessively descriptive graphic element alluding to its plot or character. For instance, using an image of a white tower for a book called “The White Tower”.
2. Too cliché: My heart sinks when I see a graphic element such as women with painted faces in traditional East Asian dress, Asian women with long straight black hair, dragon, lotus, chopsticks, and Buddha heads, on many Asian-themed book covers.
3. Trying too hard: I don’t like a book cover laden with too many images, types and colors to explain the details of the book. I'm drawn to the design principle of “less is more”.
4. Not approachable: Adding frills like a flap, elastic band, or button might convey a more “designed” or “artsy” look, but it can be a turn-off if the reader has to make too much of an effort to open the book and flip through it.

In the reality of the publishing world, an author has little say about the cover of his creation. Therefore, I was thankful for the constructive exchange with my own publisher and their in-house designer, and to be able to defend my book “KyotEau: Bottled Memories” against the above temptations. After all, we do judge a book by its cover.

Simplicity – An Extract from "KyotEau: Bottled Memories"

What is simplicity?

For the Italian scientist, engineer, painter, and polymath Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”

The Polish musician Fredric Chopin (1810-1849): “Simplicity is the final achievement. After one has played a vast quantity of notes and more notes, it is simplicity that emerges as the crowning reward of art.”

The Japanese architect of botanical gardens Koich Kawana (1930-1990): “Simplicity is the achievement of maximum effect with minimum means."

And to the Japanese tea master, Sen no Rikyu (1522-1591), the simplicity of the tea ceremony comes through in his poem:

Tea is naught but this;
First you heat the water,
Then you make the tea.
Then you drink it properly.
That is all you need to know.

In the Japanese tea ceremony, many objects made from bamboo are used, and the mystery associated with the material contributes to the inner meaning of the proceedings. The shape of the bamboo flower holder, cylindrical in shape, is often nothing more than a chopped-off piece of stalk. Such simplicity is an important element of Japanese design. The concentration of perfect workmanship in a simple object is a design principal that has influenced many Japanese craftsmen and can become an article of faith.

This Japanese simplicity is the appreciation of a single flower, exquisitely arranged and presented, as opposed to a large bouquet, where it is quantity that counts. It might value the importance ascribed to the act of creation rather than to the object manufactured. It might focus on the intimate, organic qualities of structures built on a human scale, in contrast to those emphasizing the façade.

Simplicity seems natural, almost obvious, in its final form, but getting there takes experience, talent, and patience. Design for simplicity cannot be successful unless it is supported by perfect execution.

Simplicity isn’t simple.

* Photo by Manfred Koh

The Life of the Perfumer Christophe Laudamiel – An Extract from "KyotEau: Bottled Memories".

How about the work life of a perfumer? The confidentiality of perfume formulas pulls a blanket of mystery over the perfume industry. However, Christophe Laudamiel is willing to shed a bit of light.

In his words:

“Half of his life is spent writing fragrance formulas to surprise and to create all kinds of envies and wonderful sensations for the happy few: clients, friends, and family.
Another half of his life is spent filling up trashcans with rejected fragrances from people who cannot smell or cannot judge but who think they belong to the happy few! The other half of the trashcans is what it takes to create a magic fragrance: a lot of expertise and a lot of trials and errors because not even perfumers can predict a scent in their minds just by looking at its formula.
A further half of his life is spent running around the lab looking for the suitable material in a jungle of 2,000 bottles or so to determine the correct next ingredient for his recipe of more than 80 ingredients.
Half of his life is spent thinking of how he can be more clever than nature by trying to tame ingredients and making them smell like what they don’t want to smell like.
Half of his life is spent thinking of how he should be shrewder than certain people sitting across a meeting table with different agendas.
Half of his life is spent thinking of how he can translate into a scent what someone cannot describe with words, but only with faces and emphatic gestures.
Half of his life is spent traveling either across Manhattan or across oceans, because the ingredients, the scent palettes, the fragrance collections and atmospheres won’t travel in the Internet in a zip file.
Indeed, there are many halves in a perfumer’s job, but they constitute the many facets to create the magic formula.”

The Life of A Graphic Designer – An Extract From "KyotEau: Bottled Memories"

To explain, I'm paraphrasing an entry from my diary, written on a day of frustration with our daily grind:

A graphic designer is a person who has to show up at countless meetings to listen to everyone’s critique of her work. She sketches first with pen and paper, then uses a Mac to design a digital representation of the initial ideas, and the design ends up as a two-dimensional print (such as a poster or advertisement), or a three-dimensional shape (such as a perfume bottle or package).

While she designs, she may drink green tea or soy lattes, or do some deep breathing, trying to stay calm while waiting for the computer to reboot, or the always-delayed meeting to start. From time to time she raises her head from the monitor to see if any of her co-workers are still around, even though it is 8:30 pm already, and if she is lucky, she doesn’t have to work on the weekends to meet the ever-tighter deadline. Nevertheless, she sometimes manages to step out for lunch and enjoy a quiet moment by herself on the eternally-crowded Fifth Avenue.

She continues to explore the spirit of design in its many guises, hoping that at least one of her clients or readers may understand her passion for and dedication to art and design. And what keeps her going is the thrill of seeing, some day in the future, shelves full of her perfume bottles, all identical and aligned like soldiers.