Package Design in Japan

Traditional package designers in Japan were a part of a larger culture that respected beauty and attempted to create beauty in all aspects of life. Traditional Japanese packaging "assumed their shapes over years and years of unself-conscious use and experimentation." Traditional packaging in Japan, therefore, is a part of the country's cultural heritage.

The concepts of traditional packaging in Japan were developed through multiple paths. The "utilitarian lineage" was a "crystallization of the wisdom that comes from everyday life." The assumption is that "the earliest packaging was accomplished by wrapping a given object in whatever material lay at hand." This approach evolved into a process that created packages that were "adequate for storing and transporting" objects, and that also tended to be simple and beautiful in shapes that were "free of all excess and extravagance." A famous example of such packaging is the wrapping of five eggs in connected strips of straw, packaging that protected the eggs with a strong and flexible material readily available on farms. This package design also "enhanced the feeling of the freshness and warmth of newly laid eggs." Cited also as excellent examples of traditional Japanese design deriving f

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ng so much time and energy in wrapping unimportant, humble objects." Japanese package designers in the 1920s and 1930s created art deco packaging that incorporate modern concepts of design with the traditional sense of beauty associated with Japanese packaging. Some of these packages used images of frantic city life to package sedate and matronly products. Other Japanese packaging of this era employed negative space, asymmetrical layouts, and economic and stylized illustration to create elegant packages for mundane products. Traditions in Japanese packaging began a further erosion in the early-1970s. By the mid-1970s, machine packaging had made significant inroads in Japan. By the early-1990s, environmental concerns caused Japanese package designers to reduce the number of layers of materials used in packages. More changes in package design may be expected as Japanese society continues to evolve. Contemporary Package Design Japanese retailers continue to "show their devotion to the customer" by swathing "even the most routine purchases . . . in layers of fancy paper adorned with bows and stickers." Some Japanese retailers, however, have shifted to fancy boxes for package in an effort to reduce the
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2231
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)

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