Bridgestone, counted among the world’s top tire manufacturers. CITIZEN, a manufacture that consistently produces everything from watch parts to finished watches in-house. Hitachi, which operates a wide range of businesses including home appliances, railway infrastructure, and urban development. The three companies differ not only in the size, materials, functions, and shapes of their products, but also in business scale and whether they are B2C or B2B, among many other aspects. Therefore, the first step was to visit each other’s museums and product exhibitions, and introduce their businesses and design activities. Workshops were also held for participants, allowing them to experience each company’s unique qualities and appeal, resulting in many valuable learnings.
For example, at the Bridgestone Innovation Gallery, we saw a wide variety of tires for sports cars and commercial trucks. We learned that they research optimal tread patterns and rubber materials for each application on a daily basis. We were also told about white tires for forklifts used in clean rooms and factories, which are designed so that tire marks are less noticeable—an example of the know-how packed into their products.
What was particularly interesting was the difference between tread patterns and sidewalls in design development. Tread patterns are designed with a focus on function and performance, while sidewalls are designed with brand and communication in mind. We also learned that a single tire brand can have over 100 sizes, and various approaches are considered to maintain a unified design image across all sizes.
At CITIZEN, we introduced projects aimed at exploring CITIZEN’s unique identity, design philosophy, and brand history. We also held a unique workshop where participants discussed their favorite watches, exploring the process of deepening attachment to products. By actually handling rare and latest models from the museum’s collection, we hope participants developed a greater interest in watches.
In Hitachi’s presentation, we got a glimpse of their business activities, vision, and design approaches. While some content was completely different from the focused design of a single product like a watch, there were also common initiatives and ways of thinking, which was very interesting.
In particular, the concept of 'encouraging involvement,' introduced during the explanation of the future insight method called 'Kizashi,' was unique. The idea is that by intentionally leaving room for interpretation, users can create their own ways of using and valuing the product, making it unique through their own input. I thought this approach could provide important hints for future design.
It is still unclear what concrete outcomes the Santama Project will produce, but I feel it is a highly promising project. Even in different fields, as in-house designers, we share common concerns and challenges and struggle with them daily. Not only being caught up in daily tasks, but also interacting with people outside the company allowed us to objectively view our own work, making it an invaluable experience.
*Company names are listed in the order of the events.