Improving Your Mental Constitution [9]Thinking in Terms of Experiences
The other day, I picked up a new book at a bookstore.
It was 'Ichimekuri' (published by Keihanshin L Magazine), a book introducing various "markets" across Japan: morning markets deeply rooted in towns since ancient times, lucky charm markets held at temples and shrines, handmade markets featuring artists, and more.
It caught my eye because I enjoy visiting these kinds of "markets," talking with makers and sellers while buying things. When I use or eat something bought there, I recall various "experiences" – the scene of the purchase, the seller's face, the conversation we shared, the feelings I had in that moment – and it puts me in a happy mood.
For example, while strolling through a handmade market, you pick up a piece of pottery by a young artist. They strike up a conversation, and before you know it, you're chatting away about random things, finding a connection over small details. You buy a reasonably priced piece and take it home. Later, that very bowl appears on the table, filled with food. As you remember visiting the market, conversation flows easily with your family...
In this way, even when buying everyday items, add a little "experience" to the purchase. Doing so naturally makes you aware of how objects can trigger experiences in daily life. This becomes enjoyable, leading you to seek out more objects and experiences, prompting you to go shopping again.
Developing this cycle helps you start imagining possibilities even in everyday situations you might have previously let pass by. You begin to think, "Next time, I want to do it this way," forming a habit that transforms you into someone whose mind is always active.
I touch on this topic in my book, Improving Your Mental Constitution (Nikkei Publishing), so let me share it here.
■Creating Future Standards Through Conceptual Thinking
In the 1920s, a woman pioneered the path for women's advancement in society.
She was neither a politician nor an inventor. Her name was Coco Chanel. She was the founder of the fashion brand "Chanel."
She didn't just introduce clothing to the world; she expressed a new way of life, values, and style for women through fashion as an "experience." It wasn't merely a trend; it embodied a "woman unbound by old values" and realized women's liberation.
She pursued lightness and ease of movement, creating women's suits using jersey fabric—previously used for undergarments—and tweed fabric traditionally reserved for men's wear. This was for working women. She was also the one who proposed pants styles to women who had only ever worn skirts.
It wasn't just clothing. In an era dominated by handbags, she conceived the shoulder bag to free up both hands. She also transformed perfume bottles—typically large and ornate—into simple, compact shapes that could be carried in a bag.
While these ideas seem commonplace today, they were groundbreaking innovations that overturned preconceptions and conventions, creating future standards. This truly exemplifies innovation born not from product-centric thinking, but from "experience-centric" thinking. It demonstrates that innovation never arises solely from technological evolution.
I too aspire to approach my work with this kind of mindset. Whether planning advertising campaigns, supporting product development, or working on independent projects, my overarching mission is to consider what kind of experiences I can create for the world and how to design those experiences.
If this leads to the birth of an innovative standard, nothing could be happier. The path is often long and arduous, but the dance method "Kazufumi-kun," born from the "Shaping Ideas" project I'm advancing with colleagues, is one such example.
It's a method, developed with choreographer Papaya Suzuki, that makes it easy for anyone to dance. Think of it like musical notation or martial arts forms. By simply stepping (Fumi) on mats marked with the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 (Kazu) in rhythm, you can learn basic dance steps. That's why we named it " Kazufumi-kun."
It has also been published as a book (by Asahi Shimbun Publications) and as an iPhone app under the same title.
Ultimately, our goal is to become an innovator in children's physical education. We are taking concrete steps, one by one, to use the tool of the mat and school lessons to convey the joy and creativity of dance.
As mentioned in the previous installment, we've partnered with an educational provider to launch "Dance Classes," engaging in a wide range of work from developing lesson curricula and teaching materials to training instructors. In fact, lessons using "Kazufumi-kun" are now being held in kindergartens and nurseries nationwide.
■Moving Back and Forth Between Object-Based and Experience-Based Thinking
Additionally, I participated in a class at Tama Art University's Department of Information Design themed "From Experience-Driven to Product-Driven Thinking." As instructors and advisors, we visited the campus for about six months, conducting workshops with Professor Mitsuhiro Miyazaki and around 20 students.
The specific assignment was: "Create a communication tool for fathers and children."
We deliberately assigned this topic to young, unmarried adults just past their twenties. The aim was to have them imagine an unfamiliar situation and learn to design from experience to product.
For us, it was part of our "bringing ideas to life" project—an industry-academia collaboration challenging us to see what we could draw out from the students' flexible minds. The result was a space where, while we were supposed to be the ones giving the students insights, we were actually stimulated by them and reminded of important things ourselves.
This workshop consisted of:
① Research ② Idea Generation ③ Prototype Development ④ Presentation
In each stage: ① Designing concept-based ideas ② Designing the transition from concept to product ③ Designing product-based ideas
The research stage (①) involved discovering potential hints: interviewing fathers, recalling what children wished their fathers had done for them, and observing fathers playing with their children in parks.
"Fathers often come home late from work, leading to missed opportunities with their children and mutual frustration. Could something bridge this gap?"
"Fathers who want to spend as much time as possible with their children but are unsure what to do for them. Children who want to do something for their tired fathers but don't know what would make them happy. We want to think of something that connects them."
Through their research, the students uncovered these insights.
One student even came up with a wild idea: "Could children secretly wonder if they're really biologically related to their fathers? I did when I was a kid. Could we create something to prove it?" This sparked a lively discussion in class.
In the idea generation phase (②), students think of actions to embody their discoveries and hypotheses, then transform these into tangible products.
Following the order from ①,
"It would be great to have a bookmark that lets parents and children read the same book simultaneously. A child reading during the day after school and a father reading at night before bed after work could share their feelings through one book and a bookmark, even if they're not physically together."
"I want to create a guidebook where fathers and children can each do one thing for the other every day—things they wish the other would do."
"What about a tool where the father and child's faces change and connect like flipbook animation, humorously showing they're parent and child?"
These ideas each evolved further.
Prototype creation for ③ is the stage where students hunt for materials at dollar stores and DIY shops, then handcraft their ideas into tangible objects—making them visible.
Examples include:
"PaPaCo bunco―A set of two bookmarks and a book cover where father and child can write their thoughts on the story and slip them into the book" (photo left)
"5fun dake―A guidebook featuring a 5-minute hourglass embedded in the book's center. Flipping it allows father and child to take turns giving and receiving for just 5 minutes a day" (center photo)
"Papa Para Book—Three sample books created with actual parent-child pairs, featuring processed photos of each parent and child that flip from child to father when the pages are rapidly turned" (photo right)
These prototypes were completed.
For the presentation (④), we created explanation boards and videos to convey the journey from initial discovery and hypotheses to the final idea. These were displayed alongside the prototypes at an open campus event for prospective students, where we held a presentation session.
The process the students devised is highly instructive. Here, they progressed from concept-based thinking to product-based thinking, but in actual practice, this process often involves back-and-forth movement. The order doesn't matter. What's crucial is having the ambition to spark innovation by combining concept-based thinking with product-based thinking, especially when we tend to get stuck in the latter.
In your daily work, don't you often find yourself focusing solely on the functionality or design of the product itself? Try to go beyond that. Consider what kind of experiences you can create in the world through your product, and what kind of value or style you can offer.
Furthermore, imagine the surrounding impact and the changes that emerge before and after. Doing so might just be the first step toward creating the innovation that shapes the future.
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Author
Shinji Muto
Dentsu Inc.
Joined Dentsu Inc. in 1992. After three and a half years in sales at the Shizuoka branch, transferred to the Planning Department at Tokyo headquarters. Since then, work has spanned beyond advertising planning and production to encompass overall communication design, product and new business planning, and creative direction for content. Currently affiliated with CDC. Has also been active in educational institutions, including as a visiting researcher at Keio University's SFC Research Institute and as a lecturer at universities and elementary schools. In publishing, has been involved in planning for books such as Kiyoshi Shigematsu's "Dreams: Continuing the Pitch!" (Asahi Shimbun Publications), Hiroshi Shimizu's "Beyond the 'Solo Victory' Civilization" (Mishima Publishing), and Papaya Suzuki's "Kazufumi-kun" (Asahi Shimbun Publications), and also produces children's picture books. His authored books include <a href="http://www.dentsu.co.jp/knowledge/publish/concerned_creative/atama.html" target="_blank">"Improving Your Brain's Constitution"</a> (Nikkei Publishing) and <a href="http://www.dentsu.co.jp/knowledge/publish/concerned_social/ojii_obaa.html" target="_blank">"Grandpa and Grandma's Okinawan Rock 'n' Roll"</a> (Poplar Publishing).
