Kim Colin/Industrial Facility
Math in a Bag, 2009
Material: FSC wood (Forest Stewardship Council certified)
Manufactured by Ryohin Keikaku Co, Ltd (Muji), Japan
Percentage, 2009
Material: FSC wood
Manufactured by Ryohin Keikaku Co, Ltd (Muji), Japan
Courtesy Industrial Facility
Being a parent has not only changed the way I work, but has forced me to philosophically consider new topics, including early learning strategies. Mostly I have looked through new eyes at old questions such as ‘what kind of structure do children need to support their discoveries?’
When designing specifically for children, one is aware that most toys make broad and sometimes ridiculous claims. Many are themed to coincide with entertainment promotions and claim they are ‘good for children’. This simple question: ‘what might truly be fun and educational for children?’ has informed our work included in this show.
One of our longest standing clients is Japanese retailer Muji, who recently asked us to expand upon the City in a Bag series we started for them. These original bags testimony that Muji is an urban company, and that the urban environment is part of a child’s life (as much as the overworked farm and village scenarios). The City in a Bag series includes miniature select monuments and typical structures and vehicles from cities where Muji stores are found (London, Tokyo, Paris, New York, Hong Kong, Barcelona for example). Other themed bags followed: Suburbia in a Bag, Outer Space in a Bag and Countryside in a Bag. These have become imaginative play tools and are popular with adults as much as children. Most recently, we decided to explore a more practical, didactic set of tools, and designed Math in a Bag and Percentage, to encourage independent learning through play. Our hope is that these products are tactilely and spatially rewarding for children, useful, conscientious and long-lasting.