Category: Design

Future Mobile Device Sketches – URSLA & BERTHA

未分類, Design, technology, concept, 3D

URSLA is a future pendant that emits 3D projections in the air.
Synced with the mobile phone, notifications such as emails, phone calls, schedule reminders, etc. appear right in front of you for a few seconds.

BERTHA is a future mobile phone that works with URSLA.
3D projections from the pendant can be ‘captured’ in the air with this phone to see what the notification is about in detail on the screen. Yes, just like getting an item box in Mario Kart!

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/27232096]

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

Mobile Phone Sketch: Von

未分類, Design, Gadget, technology, future, concept, mobile, music

Von is a mobile phone that is sensitive to sound, especially the knocking sound when it’s hit. It looks like a piece of xylophone. It’s almost as tall as an iPhone, but it’s narrower.


Knock it to check if you have unread emails or new phone messages. If you do, Von knocks back. The knocking sound varies according to the kind of the message (email or phone).


Shake it to see if you have unread RSS feeds or Tweets. The more unread items there are, the more it rattles. Remember when you were a kid, you shook a box of candy to see how many were left. I wanted to bring back that small happy moment with this device.


Keep tapping it on the rhythm of your favorite song. After a few seconds, it detects what song you’re tapping. Then it starts playing the song along the tap.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

Calendar Desktop Wallpaper: June 2011

未分類, Design, calendar, quote, wallpaper

“Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet.”
Roger Miller

1280x800px

2560×1600px | 2560×1440px | 1920×1200px | 1680×1050px | 1440×900px | iPhone & iPod Touch (w/o calendar) 640x960px | iPad (w/o calendar)

‘Cause June is the rainy season in Japan.
This time it’s a bit earlier than usual because I’m planning to visit the U.S. next week.

Polaroid iPhone Dock Concept

未分類, Design, Gadget, iphone, technology, future, concept, mobile

I wish there were an iPhone dock that instantly prints out the photo you take.


If you upload the photo to a website, you can add an QR code for the url on the back. For a geo-tagged photo, you can also include the map to show where the photo was taken.
Yes, I’m one of those people who still relish the feel (and smell) of photos.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

Announcement: Europe Tour

未分類, Design

After a month long thought over if I should/could do, I decided to go on a trip to Europe I’d planned before the M9.0 earthquake. I have longed for a chance to travel around Europe, but haven’t had a chance so far.

The main purpose is to visit Salone Internazionale del Mobile (as a visitor) in Milan, Italy and to give a speech at re:publica XI in Berlin, Germany, but I’ll go to some other countries as well. I really wanted to see Salone Milan for a long time because one of my dreams is to make something great and showcase them at the fair. I have some designs up my sleeve for it actually, but haven’t found a way/person to realize those product plans. At re:publica11, I was planning to talk about “Mobile Devices We Want to Have in 2020”, but because of the earthquake and other reasons, I have to change some topics in it.

I started freelancing last July, but am still figuring what kind of designer I should be or if I should keep freelancing or stop doing and work for a company. So this will be a good chance to find that out during the trip.

I’ll leave Japan on the 14th April if nothing bad happens again in Japan and will stay in Milan, Madrid, Lisbon, Paris, Cologne and Amsterdam. I already have plans to meet some people there, but any other business talk would be welcome. Please contact me via email for an appointment.

Of course I’ll keep tweeting what’s happening and posting photos I talk on my way in those cities.

Any advice on great spots where a designer like me should visit in those cities (especially Paris)?