Studio Banana interviews Shoji Ito, Design and Art director of MUJI in Europe since 2006. The Japanese retail company is now 25 years old. The first European store opened as a franchise in 1991 and today there are 15 shops in the UK, with 10 more in France, Sweden, Ireland, Germany, Spain and Italy. It also has stores in New York. Asia, meanwhile, has a handful of stores. In Japan, not counting the mini-kiosk versions in train stations, there are several branches, including the first one which opened in 1983 in Aoyama.
Originally, the design department was directed by the late Ikko Tanaka, founding head of the MUJI Advisory Board – a group of leading Japanese designers who approve all new products – and the man responsible for the four kanji characters that make up the logo. In 2002 a dynamic young designer by the name of Shojji Ito was recruited to develop an in-house team. His hand-picked squad of a dozen young men and women, three of whom studied at London’s Royal College of Art, as their latest electronic designs scooped most of the prizes at the prestigious IF International Design Awards in Germany.
Graduated at Tama Art University, Shoji Ito designed concept products for the Japanese communications company NTT. At MUJI he works with international designers, and that has revealed to him that MUJI designers have something in common. He has discovered: ‘They’re very good at finding something that exists and distilling its essence’. Some ideas for recent products have come from the customers themselves – MUJI’s Japanese website hosts a lively net community where people can proffer ideas and feedback – but many, including the new CD player, are inspired by observing life.
Interview by Studio Banana TV. Translation by Andy Marlow.
MUJI official site
MUJI on Wikipedia
Shoji Ito
Ikko Tanaka
IF Design Awards
