[Mail] From Takashi Kono & my response

Sep 18
sounds like ur project is like ours...new product with 2 more line extensions...production ready...and a business model to go with it...
i just gotta concept this morning while i was takin a shower...been thinkin alot about plants and the benefit of nature to our lives and came up with a personal theme of "4 seasons" ...seasonal change can ceate motivation for our lives and lets our mind mix with the nature (outside world)..."creating a seasonal change in our daily lives...let the user experience the 4 seasons"so how does this apply to product design...
season can be experience by color/light/smell/sound/feel/etc...think about color of flowers and plants,longer day/shorter day due to seasons, color of sky, smell of air, wet and dry air, sound of leaves/rain/thunder/bugs/etc...we experience different things that symbolizes seasonal changes...in haiku (japanese poetry) we use seasonal word to symbolize season in literature...
ex. air freshner/plants/sound system/lights/humidifier and many more can create different seasonal experience...
what if a toothbrush charger had a air freshner that only activates when you use your toothbrush, and needs to be changed every 4 months...every scent is limited edition and you have to renew to a new one every season...so everytime you wake up or before you go to sleep you can smell a scent of a new season...it maybe a simple thing, but it may create a change of feel in your daily routine...
but still thinkin of more...let me know what you think...
tk

Sep 22
Damn !!!
Sorry for replying late.

I love the topic of "season."
In Taiwan, we have four really different season.
Spring [spring rain/warn/friendly/]...... For celebrating.....flower grows, animal begin to move, so people love spring season,like a phrase "四季如春" We want four seasons can be spring all the time.
Summer [Hot/time to wear T-short or pant/ ]...typhoon .. Vacation
Fall [cool] farmers harvest
Winter[Cold] Rain a lot..Wind is sharp...

For me, it is always interesting between the moment of changing season.
It is not a moment actually. It is a feeling of changing.
Like every time I go out and see the sky... the trees.. the air...
They will show me some clues.
For example,In the end of the winter I will see the sky turning to bright and blue, the trees start to have green leaves, stop raining, the air is getting drier. Then, certain moment people will say "Hey, It is spring time!."

I think it is always fun to get used to a season and then needs to get used to another one.
(also sad too... everyone has their favorite season.. btw To ask your friend which season is their favorite is a common question here. )

Seriously, I don't like a product can suddenly change their mode for another season. It is so not natural. (Or you want to remind the user the coming of new season) That will be more natural that the product can change with season smoothly and slowly.

Some questions:
-What kind of product do people need to have in different season? "backpack?clock?car?"
-Why do people need to know the changing of product via seasons?"It is the nature of life?"
-Why do you hate stinky tofu?

to be continued

Eddie