The recently held 12th annual KOKUYO fair in Tokyo explored common workplace problems and championed solutions. Sophia Watson reports.
December 16th, 2013
In 2013, KOKUYO is the answer. But what was the question? According to the brand’s extensive research there are many, and this year’s annual KOKUYO Fair in Tokyo aimed at ‘answering’ and providing solutions for emerging workplace frustrations – and with great success I might add.
For two jam-packed days, KOKUYO played host to over 8,000 attendees at its Tokyo showroom in Shinagawa. Occupying an astonishing five floors and over 3,000 square metres, the fair was a veritable cornucopia of new product, seminars and problem-solving exercises where each visitor was able to customise his or her fair journey.
This years’ extravaganza was themed around two words: ‘the answer’. Stationed sporadically throughout the fairground were pictorial examples of what KOKUYO had identified as common workplace problems; from storage, seating, work style systems etc., and colour-coded with ‘answer’ exhibits for the corresponding problem. For example, lets say you have an issue with storage, perhaps you feel the storage in your workplace is somewhat un-secure, you would then match the colour of that depicted problem, blue for instance, and look for the blue ‘answer’ station featured in the space.
Art work by local Japanese artist Shigeo Fukuda was featured throughout the space, depicting graphic sculptural representations of ‘shaking hands’ – a concept near and dear to KOKUYO’s heart emphasising partnerships and collaborative business.
The concept was intelligent, simple and elegant – very Japanese. It allowed visitors to tailor their experience, and resolve their problems without having to look too far for the answers – so to speak.
In this industry, we often see words like ‘revolutionary’ and ‘life-changing’. What we don’t see is why – why is this chair revolutionary? Why is it life-changing? Defining the problem is important, but defining the answer is crucial. And at the KOKUYO fair in Tokyo, one could begin the journey in seeking out the answers.
Kokuyo
kokuyo.com.my
Watch this space as we bring you more on the KOKUYO fair in Tokyo.
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