Panasonic Collaborates with London Design Biennale to Explore "Emotional States" Through Design

London, United Kingdom - September 2018 sees Panasonic Design partner with the London Design Biennale to highlight the power of design in affecting our emotional states. The Biennale, which will run for three weeks in September at Somerset House, is one of the world's fastest growing design moments and will mark Panasonic's renewed commitment to developing products that enhance our experience of everyday life.

This year Panasonic are celebrating 100 years of design excellence and will showcase Kasa, one of their initiatives from their new design studio in Kyoto, Japan's cultural capital. Kasa is one of Panasonic's explorations into the ability of products and design in general to influence our moods, and part of its wider vision for the next 100 years to improve and enrich people's lives through innovation.

Takehiro Ikeda, Creative Director of Panasonic Design & Director of Panasonic FLUX, commented: "Emotional States is a natural theme for a design biennale. The design of everything around us - our homes, environments, the clothes we wear and the products we surround ourselves with - all have immense power to influence our state of mind. As new technology becomes ever more embedded into our everyday lives, there is no better time to explore the impact design can have on the very human language of emotions that we all intuitively understand and respond to."

This collaboration with the London Design Biennale is a continuance of Panasonic's exploration into the ways in which products and services can have an emotional resonance and connection with us in our everyday lives. They are testing innovative pairings of different technologies and conducting in-depth research into how our work and home environments are changing, in order to create products that enrich peoples' lives on an unprecedented scale.

Shigeo Usui, Director of Panasonic Design, commented: "The London Design Biennale 2018 demonstrates the UK's place as a world leader in design and a global focal point for the creative industries. It's a great privilege to be part of the Biennale and we're excited to have recently expanded the capability of our Panasonic design studio in Kyoto, as well as here in London, one of the most thriving creative economies in the world."

Developed by Panasonic Design to influence behavioural patterns, Kasa is an experiential exploration into the future relationship between people and objects, and very much an example of this.

Kasa is a set of delicate light, which reacts to the behaviour of the user, with the object descending into darkness when approached or handled aggressively. Through reinforcing positive actions and discouraging negative ones, Panasonic hopes to promote a transition towards a new relationship between people and objects, whereby the latter are treasured and handled with care and the former are inspired with feelings of calm and happiness. Visitors to the Biennale will be able to interact with Kasa at Somerset House throughout the Biennale as a response to the theme 'Emotional States'.

Kasa is one of a collection of objects, crafted by Panasonic's co-creation project, Kyoto KADEN Lab. The collection has been developed through a series of collaborations with the Kyoto-based craftsmen, to gain a deeper understanding of the manufacturing industry's origins and subsequently develop new categories of design. It is to be exhibited at Somerset House from 4 to 23 September at the London Design Biennale 2018. This will welcome around 40 countries, cities and a select number of Special Projects from six continents to build on the success of the inaugural 2016 Biennale. The full range of the KADEN Lab. collection is on display at Panasonic Design's new studio in Kyoto.

Additionally, Panasonic's will facilitate a conversation exploring the theme inviting speakers from the global design industry. The event will take place on 19 September from 5.15- 6.30pm and will be part of the Biennales official program. Tickets can be booked here: http://www.londondesignbiennale.com/

About Panasonic Design

Panasonic Design has been the driving force of Panasonic's product innovation and creativity since 1951, when it was founded as the first ever in-house design department in Japan. Since the beginning, its mission has been to create the best-designed products that truly transform people's lives. This continues today with an increasing emphasis on developing products that fit seamlessly into our homes, lives and environments and enhance our enjoyment and experience of everyday life.

In 2018, as part of Panasonic's centenary celebrations, Panasonic Design relocated to a brand-new head office in Kyoto, Japan's cultural capital, with additional satellite studios around the world including the FLUX team - a special task-force focusing on future innovations, insights, design strategy, and storytelling. As part of the centenary, Panasonic Design also created 'Transitions', an award-winning installation and talk series at Milan Design Week exploring transitions taking place today in design, technology and wider culture, as the design team look ahead to the next 100 years of ground-breaking innovation.

About the London Design Biennale

The 2018 London Design Biennale is devoted to the theme, Emotional States. Taking over the entirety of Somerset House, including The Edmond J. Safra Fountain Court and River Terrace, it will explore big questions and ideas about sustainability, migration, pollution, energy, cities, and social equality. Visitors will enjoy engaging and interactive installations, innovations, artworks and proposed design solutions - all in an immersive, inspiring and entertaining tour of the world.

President: Sir John Sorrell CBE
Executive Director: Ben Evans

London Design Biennale's International Advisory Committee and Jury 2018: Paola Antonelli, Adelia Borges, Dr Tristram Hunt, Hadeel Ibrahim, Mitra Khoubrou, James Lingwood MBE, Ana Elena Mallet, Professor Jeremy Myerson, Kayoko Ota, Jonathan Reekie CBE, Lord Richard Rogers of Riverside CH, Sir John Sorrell CBE, Ben Evans, Dr Christopher Turner

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