kenya hara was born in tokyo 1958. he graduated from the musashino art university in 1983 with a master’s degree in design and soon after, joined the nippon design centre. in 1991, he founded his current practice, hara design institute. hara is the author of several notable books on design and has curated several highly acclaimed exhibitions. he has been the art director of muji since 2002 and is the current president of the japan graphic designers association. designboom asked him about his work and influences…
designboom: do you remember the instance that made you want to become a designer?
kenya hara: I liked the concept of design, and aspired to become a person who lives on friendly terms with design. I don’t like the ‘er’ of ‘designer’, but over time, I seem to have gotten used to it.