storm from the east

Tax luxuries, not necessities in Japan. And those stupid bags.

The current Japanese Prime Minister, Yoshihiko Noda (correct at the time of writing), aims to increase consumption tax, which of course has politicians and others positively foaming at the mouth. 'How can the average man or woman in the street afford to smoke, drink and buy Louis Vuitton bags if tax is raised across the board?' they implore. And they're right. I'm also against a tax raise across the board, but I'm all for a tax raise on certain things. It's idiotic to double the tax on potatoes, carrots and children's clothes. People need to eat and kids need to wear clothes - I'm not talking about dressing little Taro in Gucci and Prada, I'm talking about normal clothes that growing kids get through faster than Japan gets through prime ministers.

'Can I go home yet?'

I'm the first to admit that I'm not really up to date with the political and economic system back in my native UK, but I believe that VAT - our equivalent of consumption tax - is not charged on basic foodstuffs and clothes for children. There is, however, a crapload of tax added on to things people could probably do without, like super-long, melt in the lung cigarettes.

So here's my first proposal to Prime Minister Noda (I hear he's an avid reader of this site): scrap tax on basic foodstuffs like fresh fruit and vegetables and treble it on things like chocolate, cakes and doughnuts. People could then eat well and you might see some tubbies shedding a few pounds.

Here's my second proposal: if you really want to encourage people to have more babies in Japan, scrap tax on baby products, children's clothing and books for kids. Completely. You can then quadruple the tax on cigarettes, booze, luxury items and those odd little man-bags you see gents of a certain age carting around. That way you would not only be helping out struggling parents, but also contributing to reducing the high incidence of cancer in the country.

If you think raising tax on cigarettes to 20% will mean tobacco companies will close and loads of people will lose their jobs, it won't. Cigarettes are ridiculously cheap in Japan - well below half the price of cigarettes in the UK - and the companies supplying the UK are still going strong.

Instead of punishing everybody by simply raising tax everywhere, do it responsibly and logically. It would be a very refreshing change.

You're welcome.

Is design a calling?

An interesting opinion was voiced to me the other day by a young designer who claimed that design, as far as he is concerned, is a calling on par with things like dedicating one's life to religion.

His reasoning is that designers necessarily sacrifice a lot in order to dedicate themselves to a career that touches upon almost all facets of life, yet it is one that often goes unnoticed. He qualifies this by saying that although some prominent designers are well-known, most are only known to those involved in design themselves.

While I find his thoughts interesting, I'm not sure I agree. I think that many people sacrifice a lot in order to dedicate themselves to a career that touches upon almost all facets of life, with teachers, doctors, nurses, care workers, the police, faith workers and the armed forces springing immediately to mind. As for the prominent few, I would argue that there are more prominent designers than most of the aforementioned careers. When was the last time you saw a book about famous teachers or nurses?

Is design a calling? Are all careers a calling of sorts? Is yours?

African Bicycle Design Contest

I've previously mentioned the African Bike Design Contest, a Dutch initiative to develop a Bicycle that fulfills African needs, co-created with students, professionals and others, and ideas can be submitted until September 30th 2010 at www.wiki-bike.com.

The Netherlands is famous for its bicycle culture. There are more bicycles than inhabitants and bicycles are used by all people, regardless of status, sex, culture and religion. As in the Netherlands, bicycles are very popular in Africa, but whereas in the Netherlands the bicycle is mostly used for leisure and commuting, in Africa it is a tool for economical empowerment and independence. Unlike the Netherlands, the available bicycle designs in Africa are of poor quality, which hampers economic development. Research shows there’s a need for sustainable bicycle designs produced with environmental friendly and locally available materials, to reduce or prevent an increase of CO2 emission.

Worldwide knowledge and innovative ideas could have a real impact on the livelihood of African families. Wiki-bike is inviting everyone to submit their ideas for the perfect African bicycle and join the African Bicycle Design Contest 2010-2011. A professional jury, with James Thomas, Peter van der Veer, Luud Schimmelpennink, Jan Carel Diehl, Frank van Rijn, Nick van Kimmenade and the African Bicycle Network, will judge all contributions and select five design ideas in October 2010. The five winning contributions will be awarded with a design team that will develop the design ideas into prototypes. Maybe one of these prototypes will be the bicycle that makes a difference in Africa! The design team delivering the best prototype will win a 10 day trip to Kenya to assist a Kenyan team in producing this bicycle (conditions apply).

Visit wiki-bike.com for more information.

The African Bicycle Design Contest is an initiative of Cycling out of Poverty in cooperation with IDEAL&CO, Slimmer foundation and several universities and colleges.

J.P.Meulendijks: Bird in Hand light for Plankton

Plankton is a green and future-conscious design-label that focuses on the environment, ecological design and sustainability. Their goal is to provide interior products that are produced with a minimal environmental footprint and maximum life-cycle through durable construction and good timeless design with a little poetry and soul.

The small and exclusive collection is produced in the Netherlands and available trough a selected network of dealers. A new design will be presented each year. All designs (except spare) are made of ECOLOTEK, a new environment-friendly compostable material consisting of hemp fibres, minerals and a binder, developed by Plankton.

The Bird in Hand suspended light is designed and developed by J.P.Meulendijks, comes with a white satin finish and is based on, and a tribute to, the universal art of hand shadows; making shadows on the wall using your hands to create birds, rabbits, and other figures. Playing with light and hand shadows is a centuries old pastime which came about long before electric light was invented. Bird in Hand plays with this concept: All of the hands are positioned to look like a flock of birds, flying out in circles. The shadows cast on the wall looks like birds. This results in a very expressive, dynamic and striking looking light, with layers of humour and poetry hidden in the design.

For more information:

J.P.Meulendijks design studio

www.planktonstation.nl

Designing for yourself

To be honest, I have redesigned this and my other main site countless times. I have experimented with numerous colour schemes, layouts, fonts, images and logos and have tended to be dissatisfied with each incarnation. Basically, I am my own worst client and I know I am not the only one to think this way - Six Revisions, for example, wrote an article entitled 'How to Design for Your Worst Client: You' last year, listing ten rules to stick to when designing a website. While I agree with that article, my own experience has led to me trying to stick to 5 rules when designing for myself.

1) Learn from the experience

When you're scratching your head and thinking 'why doesn't this work?' or 'what's missing?', take notes and monitor what you did, why you did it, and when you did it. Take that experience and remember it when designing for a client: it will help you try to understand them better and (hopefully) help you approach the task with more of an open mind.

2) Ask other people

Before you change something, ask others for their feedback. Ask what they like and don't like about the current design. Ask them how they perceive you and compare this with how you perceive yourself. Listen to them.

3) Don't copy

Sometimes being 'inspired' by another design can go a little too far and the result will be a poor imitation. Be inspired, but be original.

4) Don't try to be something you're not

Anybody who has followed this site for any length of time will know that I have variously had it loaded with navigation and/or images and advertisements. I fell into the trap of trying to create a site that didn't really reflect me and it is an ongoing process to change that, both here and on my other site. I am currently paring both down because I tend to prefer minimalist design. I'm still trying to find the right balance.

5) Learn when to stop

Yes, I'm still learning this. At some point, however, you have to stop messing around with the design. Even with smaller sites/companies there needs to be some continuity so that people will not be confused each time they look at your site.