Ruka Kameda
I am a Japanese designer based in Glasgow. I have a keen interest in how our sensations are connected with our memories. My design practice involves the topic of sustainability from a cultural perspective: rituals, traditions, interactions between people and technology in contemporary lifestyles. My core value in my design approach is in empathy. With empathy, I could identify what needs to evolve as well as what needs to be kept. The process often involves human interactions and discussions, focusing on asking ‘Why’ to understand their unconscious mind sets. Aimed to provoke more ‘why’ in people’s way of living and create awareness to broader perspectives and consider their relationship with their surrounding environment.
Utsuwa
Utsuwa is a craft experiential restaurant in Tokyo. This restaurant aims to decolonise the stereotype towards craft to re-incorporate handmade Japanese crafts into their lifestyle.
In Japan, post COVID-19, craftsperson’s culture is in danger of disappearing. What can a designer do? Through discussion, I noticed a gap between the craftsperson and the user. Users think the crafts are something too precious to be used. On the other hand, craftsperson wishes their crafts to be used and they believe this is the way to be succeeded.
To approach this, the craft experiential restaurant Utsuwa was born. At Utsuwa the users could experience eating food using the crafts, which helps imagine how their dining experience looks and feels when crafts are part of their lifestyle. As well as decolonising the stereotype towards crafts, it could suggest having one lifelong lasting product, rather than owning many products. This project focus is on Japan, but this project has the potential of being a tool that could be adapted to other countries.
Cancer Education in 2030
How does the world look like in 2030? How has cancer education evolved to adapt?
In 2030 with the rapid development of technology and the power of collective intelligence, cancer and its treatment has become manageable. Most procedures can be done at home and new roles called Citizen Supports emerged. Citizen Supports is a role, which every person in 2030 will be assigned as in their community. Citizen Supports have themselves experienced the cancer treatment or have closely witnessed the process. They will help the ongoing cancer patients by holding consultations. The way in which communities’ function has changed to allow for more effective way of living. This has been achieved in a multitude of ways, taking great focus on empathetic approaches and accessibility for all on many levels. Consideration were made from aspects such as how people can medicate at home or contribute to their society to further its potential while sharing the load.
METIS
METIS is a library that helps Citizen Supports to establish their role as well as helping them to balance their mental well-being.
In 2030, cancer treatment becomes more manageable in a community scale that new role, Citizen Support was introduced. They are the group of people who have been in a close witness of the cancer treatment or have experienced the process themselves. They support the ongoing cancer patients by holding consultations for the patients in their community. However, because they have closely experienced the cancer journey, on occasions, it could be tough for them to balance their well-being.
METIS will help them establish their role as Citizen Support. The key experience is people can virtually ‘learn through experiencing’ the past consultations. By them experiencing the consultations from other Citizen Supports, it gives them a bigger capacity to understand the abstract knowledge that could not be done through a verbal or written description.
