BASF inspires Tama Art University students to create “Masterpieces in Plastic”
- Students use BASF’s high performance materials to develop innovative product designs
- Product designs include table seasoning dispensers, plates and chess set
- Public display of product designs at the Lumen Center Italia Showroom in Tokyo, Japan from November 2 to 10
Tokyo, Japan – November 2, 2016 – Innovative product designs using BASF’s high performance plastic materials, developed by students from Tama Art University under the theme “Masterpieces in Plastic,” will be showcased from November 2-10, 2016 at Lumen Center Italia in Tokyo.
“Plastic materials are increasingly becoming the material of choice for designers. The allure of plastic has yet to be fully explored. Further, depending on how plastics are used, the potential of product designs can be broadened. Through this year’s joint project with BASF, students focused on creating designs featuring plastic forms, colors, and textures,” said Professor Hideki Tanaka of Tama Art University.
11 students who enrolled in a product design course conducted by Professor Hideki Tanaka learned about BASF’s wide range of plastics and collector dyes, and proposed products with their own unique stories, leveraging the superb qualities of the materials chosen. Under the theme of “Masterpieces in Plastic,” the project focused on producing beautiful redesigns of single function products which do not rely on mechanical aspects or electricity. The project was realized through a collaboration between Tama Art University and BASF’s unique design collaboration center, designfabrik® Tokyo.
The BASF materials used included plastics with unique properties and textures, such as Ultramid®, Ultradur®, Ultrason®, Elastollan®, Infinergy® and Lumogen® F. These high performance plastics not only meet performance requirements, but also provide added value through their texture design. The students’ designs ranged from table seasoning dispensers to plates for Japanese sweets and even included chess set. Ultradur is the selected material to produce the seasoning dispensers due to its dimensional stability.
“Through this collaboration between designfabrik® Tokyo and Tama Art University, we are helping the product designers of tomorrow use their imagination to develop usage concepts particularly suited to plastics. This year, product designs and material strengths have been used to create even greater value for everyday products such as kitchen supplies,” said Toshifumi Tanakai of designfabrik® Tokyo, BASF Japan Ltd.
Since 2013, Tama Art University and BASF have implemented collaborative projects and offered joint classes using BASF materials to students in the Product Design Course of Tama Art University Department of Product and Textile Design. Tama Art University aims to train world-class designer talent to pursue the potential of design that maximizes the characteristics of a wide array of materials. These efforts include having students make presentations in English to BASF employees. Through designfabrik® Tokyo, BASF offers expert advice on BASF materials, provides support for the development of new material uses, and creates opportunities as the materials company of choice for product designers.
About Tama Art University
In 1935, Tama Imperial Art School was founded in present day Kaminoge, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo. The Faculty of Art and Design moved to its current campus in Hachioji in 1971, and now, the University will celebrate its 80th anniversary.Tama Art University aims to engender students with a strong sense of culture corresponding to the international community, working to enhance and advance the content of its educational research with the purpose of training artists, designers and education researchers capable of contributing to a modern society. Product Design majors relate to the design of all the things people encounter in their lives, including automobiles, motorcycles, home appliances, audio/visual devices, mobile phones, furniture, shoes, handbags, baby products, musical instruments, games, sports equipment, cosmetics, packages and more. When designing such products, one needs to study a variety of viewpoints. This includes basics such as form and function, as well as specialized knowledge for production and manufacturing. Working through a variety of challenges over four years, each and every student will improve their ability to think and express themselves, as well as their human qualities, in ways that suit their desired profession. Our aim is to foster world-class, independent designers.
About designfabrik® Tokyo
designfabrik® Tokyo was established in BASF Japan's Yokohama Innovation Center in October of 2014 as a location that offers an environment where industrial designers and engineers can utilize BASF's know-how regarding materials, particularly high-performance plastics and polyurethane, and can provide support to the development of new applications. It supports the selection of materials by designers when creating products, and creates together with customers CMF (color, material, finishing) solutions for materials used in the design process. In July 2015, designfabrik® Tokyo collaborated with an industrial designer and representative of KEN OKUYAMA DESIGN, Mr. Kiyoyuki Okuyama, to create an original wine cooler using BASF's polyamide resin.
About BASF
At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. The approximately 112,000 employees in the BASF Group work on contributing to the success of our customers in nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world. Our portfolio is organized into five segments: Chemicals, Performance Products, Functional Materials & Solutions, Agricultural Solutions and Oil & Gas. BASF generated sales of more than €70 billion in 2015. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (AN). Further information at www.basf.com.
