Caught the Design Ah NEO Exhibit Just in Time!
Living in the US, I never thought I’d catch “Design Ah NEO”—but I did, and it was awesome!
Today’s post is about the last exhibit I saw in Japan: the Design Ah NEO exhibition. I’d vaguely heard somewhere that the show—an NHK educational TV program—was having an exhibit, but it was only floating in the back of my mind. I never expected it to be running while I was actually in Japan.
When I realized it was, all my exhaustion and summer heat haze disappeared in a rush of excitement, and I hopped across subway lines in the evening heat of Tokyo, racing to get there before closing.
≈e first room? A gigantic inflatable “あ” filling the ceiling space, gently swaying overhead. Beyond that, playful displays reminded you of the exhibit’s main theme: actions (verbs). The whole thing was about experiencing, through interactive works, how design connects to and shapes our actions—viewing the relationship between human activity and design from many angles.
The first room? A gigantic inflatable “あ” filling the ceiling space, gently swaying overhead.
Beyond that, playful displays reminded you of the exhibit’s main theme: actions (verbs). The whole thing was about experiencing, through interactive works, how design connects to and shapes our actions—viewing the relationship between human activity and design from many angles.
Seeing all the small actions hidden inside the act of ‘eating’ made me realize again how brilliantly simple and useful cutlery design can be.
When do you ever see this many objects with handles gathered in one place!? Absolutely overwhelming—in the best way.
A sea of people! The ‘Dessin Ah’ drawing corner (famous from the show) had the longest line, but the interactive ‘Which Design?’ corner was super fun too!
Also playing were familiar videos from the show, like the “Gather!” segment. I completely lost track of time, just soaking in the world of Design Ah NEO. I feel so lucky I got to go!
