There is something I always remember when designing a new product. Exactly 10 years ago, when I was making original furniture and trying to develop my own products, I was invited to an interior design party. When the participants were shown the handmade file of photos of new furniture, "Hey, how old are you?" The person who called out to me was a small but strangely imposing man wearing a gray suit, his long white hair peeking out from under his hat. "I'm 33," I replied. While looking through the files of the work I brought with me, "Since you're still young, I'll tell you, what you're doing isn't design. It's poorly made art without a theme. When craftsmen design, it's often only for the convenience of the maker and lacks substance for the user." "I wanted to show at least a little bit of my individuality as a creator..." he replied without a moment's hesitation. "What you're showing is not individuality, but cheap ego. You're just trying to be eccentric and avoid the essence of being a designer." "What is the essence of a designer? Classic product designs like wooden furniture have already been created by someone else long ago." "Even if all the phrases have been used, designers still struggle to find and create their own originality! If you just make what you want to make, you have no understanding of the act of design." "So what exactly is design?" "What else is there to do but make people happy?" I was literally struck by lightning, and a white bolt of lightning flashed through my pitch black head. I still remember this experience whenever I design something. "Is it not just for the creator's convenience, but can it still express individuality, and can it make someone happy?" Matsuoka
