Mai Orikasa
Japan
CAREER Enrolled in April 2015; Completed mater’s degree in March 2017
I studied product design and branding at Keio University SFC, and learned how interesting it is to reevaluate fields for which the value of design has yet to be explored through a design lens. I entered KMD with the keywords of bodily extensions and prosthetic legs, which I had been involved in as an undergraduate student. I took part in a Real Project to create a new cultural milieu and community called Sports Creation (Superhuman Sports Project).
We tend to think that the starting point for innovation is making things, but KMD helped me realize that innovation can undoubtedly be located in the moments when relationships form between people or when intangible culture begins to burgeon.
I have moved fields into the manufacture of bedding, and “sleep” now constitutes my work. Although at a manufacturer that produces tangible products, I am involved in product strategy and marketing in order to redefine “what it means to sleep.” Each day I put into practice what I learned at KMD on the frontlines of a business for which the point where ordinary people and “sleep” meet cannot be treated merely in terms of consumption, from creating a base for sleep consultation, through to Sleep Tech projects utilizing digital technologies and new approaches to athletic conditioning.
(This article was written in March 2020.)