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DesignNewswire · COMO, Italy ·

Keiji Ishikawa Is Honored with the Bronze A' Design Award for Dialogical Relationship Glass Tableware in Bakeware, Tableware, Drinkware and Cookware Design

Keiji Ishikawa acknowledged for bakeware, tableware, drinkware and cookware design by the international grand jury of the 2023 - 2024 A' Design Award & Competition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COMO, Italy, April 14, 2024 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that Dialogical Relationship Glass Tableware by Keiji Ishikawa, designed for KJ studio, has been granted the Bronze A' Design Award in the Bakeware, Tableware, Drinkware and Cookware Design category. The recognition forms part of the 2023 - 2024 A' Design Award & Competition and was determined through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who evaluated anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.

About the Bronze A' Design Award

The Bronze A' Design Award is given to outstanding designs that showcase a high degree of creativity and practicality. It recognizes the dedication and skill of designers who produce work that stands out for its thoughtful development and innovative use of materials and technology. These designs are acknowledged for their professional execution and potential to influence industry standards positively. Winning this award highlights the designer's ability to blend form and function effectively, offering solutions that enhance people's lives and wellbeing.

Regarding Dialogical Relationship Glass Tableware

The cut glass design aims to inspire creative thinking by invoking various stories, such as past experiences, gratitude for the present, and anticipation for the future. The design features rabbit-like characters expressing different emotions, creating a dialogical scene. The characters' emotional expressions are presented repetitively, with variations near the mouth to develop the story. This design encourages people to reflect on their past experiences and prospects while symbolizing the importance of dialogical relationships.

About Keiji Ishikawa

After spending five years in Tokyo learning the traditional Japanese glass-cutting technique "Kiriko," a designer moved to Tokushima to establish his cutting-edge studio in 2019. His creations include a wide range of daily items, such as glasses, dishes, and lampshades, all featuring original designs that aim to bring a sense of calm and joy to people's lives. Recently, he has been interested in glassblowing and is producing exceptional multilayered glasses that showcase his unique sensitivity and creativity.

Award Record

This recognition makes Keiji Ishikawa a winner of 4 A' Design Awards. The awards span the editions from 2020 - 2021 to 2023 - 2024 of the A' Design Award & Competition.

About the A' Bakeware, Tableware, Drinkware and Cookware Design Award

The A' Kitchenware Design Award is an international design competition recognizing good kitchenware designs by best kitchenware brands and designers worldwide. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to kitchenware designers, product designers, industrial design studios and kitchenware brands from all countries. Entries typically include pots, pans, cutlery, plates, bowls and glasses. Awarded kitchenware designs are published at https://dezigners.org/design-category/kitchenware

About A' Design Award & Competition

A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade organized annually since 2008. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The A' Design Award has a philanthropic mission to advance society through good design by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Entries are peer reviewed and anonymously evaluated by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. The A' Design Prize granted to eligible laureates includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, the upload of a work and the preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. Further information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com

Press Resources

Media Contact

Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953

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Fact Sheet

The Work

Project
Dialogical Relationship Glass Tableware
Function
Glass Tableware
Category
Bakeware, Tableware, Drinkware and Cookware Design
Discipline
Industrial Design
Industry
Furniture & Home and Food & Hospitality
Colors
Saddle Brown, Slate Blue, Royal Blue, Medium Blue and Firebrick
Images
5
Client
KJ studio

The Recognition

Laureate
Keiji Ishikawa
Country
Japan
Recognition
Bronze A' Design Award
Edition
2023 - 2024
Design ID
#158027

Credits

Image Credits
Video Credits: To make the story development of the scenes where the pair of characters express their emotions more straightforward to understand, we show the scenes changing as we rotate the glass in a video.

Design Details

Unique Properties
The design of the dialogical scenes features a pair of rabbits expressing various emotions, with a repeated pattern of unified and stable expressions. The characters around the mouth of the glass showcase natural changes that unfold the story, allowing the holder to reflect on past experiences and prospects. This design symbolizes the joy of realizing a unified self through dialogical relationships with others.
Inspiration
My inspiration for creating a cut glass was to capture and celebrate life's meaningful moments. I wanted to make a piece that would remind us of our past achievements, help us appreciate the present, and inspire us to dream of a bright future. To bring this vision to life, I used dialogue from different scenes to tell a comprehensive story.
Research
We needed to create a pair of characters that could be cut with Kiriko and that were visually enjoyable. Moreover, we needed to create scenes where those characters expressed various emotions.
Challenge
As a result of trial and error, we decided on a simple and abstract design like a rabbit for the pair of characters. We tried many variations for the various emotional expressions and agreed on them while referring to multiple people's opinions (I would especially like to thank Ms. Risako Ishikawa for her valuable advice).
Realization and Technology
The double-layered glassware is carefully ground and polished by hand using Japanese Kiriko cut glass technology.
Operation and Interaction
The pattern of the character, like a pair of rabbits, is a wide-angle V-cut, so when viewed from the side, the design on the inside changes and shines through, as shown in the main image. Also, as indicated in optional image #2, by looking at the plates from above, you can see how the story progresses with the variations of the characters. Additionally, the design is very smooth to the touch and shock-resistant because the cut of the character pattern is shallow in depth.
Project Duration and Location
The project started in March 2023 in Tokushima, Japan, and finished in January 2024.
Specifications
The product dimensions are as follows: In the main image, the wine glass is 58mm in diameter and 150mm in height, and the sake cup is 60mm in diameter and 60mm in height. In optional image #1, the plate is 150mm in diameter and 33mm in height, and the top view of the plate is shown in optional image #2. In optional image #3, the sake glass is 60mm in diameter and 70mm in height. Finally, in optional image #4, the rock glass is 77mm in diameter and 92mm in height.
Keywords
kiriko, cutglass, japaneseglassware, glassart

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