Taking “EXFORMATION” as the theme of his speech, Kenya Hara conveyed his idea that “comprehension of the unknown is the beginning of design” on June 14th at the lecture hall of CAFA. “EXFORMATION” is a program Kenya Hara and his students are working on at Musashino Art University.

As introduced by Kenya hara, so-called “Ex-formation” is opposite to the familiar “information”, which means exploration of the unknown. He explained the methods and principles of design combined with his program. This program has been divided into 6 sections: Shimanto River, Resort, Shiva/Wrinkle, Overgrown, Naked and Women. He talked about them one by one. To the end, he said it’s the eighth year he persisted in this program, last year’s theme was “immature” and this year’s is “air”. Actually, our lives are full of wonders and the unknown, thus people need constantly wake up their fresh feelings. “Known, Understood” is a horrible concept which means your works have nothing new. To succeed, one has to look for the unknown consciously. It’s also true for the brands; we need to impart information when we race to control the market while we should explore exformation after a certain reputation acquired.

Enjoying a reputation of an international design power, Japanese design, in the last decades, has been featuring a vivid embodiment of its own culture, a great effort to the maintenance of a sound social order, an effective transformation into productivity, and a catching influence on the international design trend and life style. Such a panoramic study of Japanese design serves as a precious reference for China’s design development. This lecture inspired us to consider several questions: What is design and what is the capacity of graphic design? What are the problems confronting the contemporary Chinese design? The age of creativity has already been on the doormat when China’s gigantic economy vehicle is racing on the fast lane. With the unprecedented significance attached to “Design”, an important topic emerges on how to keep its development on a healthy track and especially to foster and maintain the contemporary Chinese humanistic values.

Kenya Hara (born 1958) is a Japanese graphic designer and curator. He works as art director of Muji since 2001 and designed the opening and closing ceremony programs of the Nagano Winter Olympic Games 1998. Kenya Hara has published “Designing Design”, in which he elaborates on the importance of “emptiness” in both the visual and philosophical traditions of Japan, and its application to design. In 2008, Hara partnered with fashion label Kenzo for the launch of its men's fragrance Kenzo Power. Kenya Hara is considered a leading design personality in Japan and in 2000 had his own exhibition “Re-Design: The Daily Products of the 21st Century”.

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