Welcome to Takram’s Newsletter — a regular digest of news, projects, events and activities, keeping you up to date with the Tokyo, London, New York and Shanghai studios.

Yosuke Ushigome of Takram London will be participating in a panel discussion as a part of the London Design Festival. Questions to be explored include:

- What does design mean in 10-50 years in a rapidly evolving and boundless world?

- What new technologies can help us to imagine the future and craft innovative design solutions for a better world?

- How will immersive experiences, virtual environments and mixed reality change the way we design and the world we design for?

The event takes place on 25 September at the V&A Museum in London.

Tickets available via LDF

Takram will be hosting the next edition of the Design Council’s Design for Planet meetup. We’ll be discussing the role of design in the climate emergency. Three speakers will share their approaches and there will be time for discussions and mingling.

Come join us at Takram’s London office on 11 October, 2022.

Tickets available via MeetUp

In response to Europe's rapidly worsening energy crisis, Takram has created a series of experiments that reimagine alternative relationships with the energy grid. This work is currently on display as part of The Energy Show at the Het Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam, Netherlands, open until March 2023.

In the exhibition, a TV plays an endless loop of a real-time energy forecast called Energy Proverb Net, evoking memories of TV weather stations left on repeat. The station speaks in proverbs generated by artificial intelligence, helping viewers recall how weather conditions affect renewable energy resources in their area.

Nearby a houseplant constructed from photovoltaic panels imagines a future in which energy becomes intimate and cared for. The investigation explores the novel idea of Photovolphilia – the innate desire to derive energy from the sun.

The Energy Show at the Solar Biennale

FLUX New York, a Creative R&D team at Panasonic, and Takram New York have collaborated on a research study to reveal “Future Signals” from people living in NYC. Over the past few months, we focused on DEI; Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, in business and observed the relationship between consumers and brands.

It is said that consumers are on the lookout for a consistent corporate stance on DEI, now a necessary condition for choosing a brand, especially after 2020. How do they choose brands and content in an age of diverse individuals? What can brands do to respect and help all people lead fulfilling lives? In the following newsletter, we will share the insights extracted from the series of studies. Stay tuned!

Takram teamed up with marketing and advertising company, Hakuhodo to jointly design a product focused on issues around disaster reserves in Japan. As the country is prone to earthquakes and other natural disasters, the Japanese government recommends having a week’s worth of food reserves on-hand in the event of a crisis. However, only one-quarter of people follow this guidance.

Gift&Stock has been created as a high-end, shelf-stable food that people would want to own and give to friends and loved ones as a gift. The aim is to spread food stockpiling throughout society by passing it from person to person. GIft&Stock’s is made with quality in mind, ensuring these ‘tasty stockpiles’ can be eaten at any time and valued for both their taste and appearance.

Gift&Stock was successfully launched through crowdfunding and is available to purchase in Japan in three seafood risotto flavours.

Gift&Stock

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