Lars Müller Publishers 2010/2011 Architecture Design Photography ...

Kenya hara
DESIgnIng DESIgn
Design: Kenya hara
16.5 × 24 cm, 6 ½ × 9 ½ in, 472 pages
389 illustrations, hardcover
2007, ISBN 978-3-03778-105-0, English
EUR 40.– GBP 35.– USD / CAD 55.–
Representing a new generation of designers in
Japan, Kenya Hara (born 1958) pays tribute to his
mentors, using long overlooked Japanese icons
and images in much of his work. In Designing
Design, he impresses upon the reader the importance
of “emptiness” in both the visual and philosophical
traditions of Japan, and its application
to design, made visible by means of numerous
examples from his own work: Hara for instance
designed the opening and closing ceremony
programs for the Nagano Winter Olympic games
1998. In 2001, he enrolled as a board member
for the Japanese label MUJI and has considerably
moulded the identity of this successful corporation
as communication and design advisor ever
since. Kenya Hara, alongside Naoto Fukasawa
one of the leading design personalities in Japan,
has also called attention to himself with exhibitions
such as Re-Design: the Daily products of
the 21st Century of 2000.
Kenya hara
whITE
Design: Kenya hara
13.5 × 19.5 cm, 5 ¼ × 7 ¾ in, 64 pages
4 illustrations, hardcover
2010, ISBN 978-3-03778-183-8, English
2010, ISBN 978-3-03778-182-1, German
EUR 20.– GBP 16.– USD / CAD 29.–
White is not a book about color. It is rather the
author’s attempt to explore the essence of
“white,” which he sees as being closely related to
the origin of Japanese aesthetics—symbolizing
simplicity and subtlety. The central concepts discussed
in this publication are emptiness and the
absolute void.
Kenya Hara also sees his work as a designer
as a pure form of communication. Good communication
has the distinction of being able to listen
to each other, rather than to press one’s opinion
onto the opponent. Kenya Hara compares this
form of communication with an “empty container.”
In visual communication, there are equally signals
whose signification is limited, as well as signals
or symbols such as the cross or the red circle on
the Japanese flag, which—like an “empty con-
tainer”—permit every signification and do not limit
imagination. It is not only the fact that the Japanese
character for white forms a radical of the
character for emptiness that has prompted him
to closely associate the color white with the
state of emptiness.
wInDfALL LIghT
The Visual Language of ECM
Edited by Lars Müller
With contributions by Geoff Andrew,
Ketil Bjørnstad, Katharina Epprecht,
Lars Müller, and Thomas Steinfeld
Design: Integral Lars Müller
18.5 × 26 cm, 7 ¼ × 10 ¼ in, 448 pages
1260 illustrations, softcover
2010, ISBN 978-3-03778-157-9, English
2010, ISBN 978-3-03778-197-5, German
EUR 55.– GBP 50.– USD / CAD 85.–
Following the success of Sleeves of Desire (1996),
a second publication about the ECM label is now
devoted to its sleeve designs from 1996 to the
present. Since its founding in 1969, ECM (Edition
of Contemporary Music), has been dedicated
primarily to jazz and contemporary classical
music and is a leading international label in both
these fields. What distinguishes ECM are its design
aesthetics, which have always been an integral
part of its music productions. Manfred Eicher’s
collaboration with designers and alternating
photog raphers and artists has produced an aesthetics
of the cover that initiates a dialogue
between the mostly photographic image and the
music. This book takes the reader on an associative
journey through this visual world. In their
texts, the authors examine various aspects of this
visual language in greater detail. An illustrated
catalog of all of ECM’s releases since its founding
completes this publication.
44 Design 45