Happy Christmas! I really enjoy this time of year as an extra excuse to evaluate my day-to-day habits and redesign them, experiment with them.

Without further ado...

5 more designs I've noticed in Japan, and the questions or strategies they spark:

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1. Toilet water pressure

No talk of design in Japan is complete without mention of Japanese toilets -- even in public bathrooms, many toilets can wash your nether regions and play birds-chirping-water-flowing-in-a-forest-stream music to cover up your body-sounds.

While using the bidet, one can increase the water pressure by pressing "+".
I pressed 3 times -- the water pressure immediately and gradually scaled up!

This is how change should be, I thought!
-I know I, personally, initiated it
-I can feel the progress
-yet it's gradual, not shocking 

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2. Lots of seats for single diners

I love the abundance of restaurant bar seating! In Tokyo, the dominance of bar seats ranged from 100% at fast food places, to 25-50% at sit-down diners or higher-end restaurants. 

These bar seats invite diners to eat alone!

Bar seats are a rarity in the US and Singapore, and often a spot offered as a "second choice." This suggests that, in those countries, eating out is not about consuming food, but more about socialising or celebrating. 

Eating alone, then, becomes a stigmatised symbol of being alone. 

But, it's different in Japan!

Regardless of where this bar seating design came from (perhaps a need to conserve space, a desire to be alone/outside of the house, or a frequency of single diners) 
...the abundance of bar seats make it good and normal to eat alone. 

The business questions this sparks are:
-What social norms am I enforcing?
-How does the way people interact with my product/service highlight norms?
-Who is being turned away or alienated by the way I do things?
-How does my office space (or language, or meeting agenda, or app structure) affect behaviour?

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3. Invisible gas stations

Tokyo has done incredible things in a tiny amount of space. Perhaps, it is (in part) because of their space constraint that they've innovated so much!

Look at this gas station:

When I think of a gas station, I think of those giant, refrigerator-sized machines. But this design breaks away from tradition, by asking not "how can we fit the most pump machines," but rather "how might we refuel cars in a quick, compact way?"

That ability to innovate beyond tradition comes from a discipline of reframing the problem, coming with possible root problems and root goals, and saving problem-solving until afterwards.

It also makes me question technical constraints -- "sure, we can't do it NOW, but is it worth attempting to do?"

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4. Advertising on subway trains

I have a certain awkwardness in trains... I want to
-disconnect from technology, to be more mindful, or at least less dizzy
-avoid eye contact, but still look around

In the Tokyo subway trains, I had a lot to read:

At first, I felt bombarded by advertisements. Too much visual noise.

Then I realised I want something to do on a train -- something easy, requiring little commitment (as reading articles often require more focus and time).

People have a desire to read in trains... or at least a willingness to compromise. They are a captive audience, in a sense.

What do you think?

Or, to push even further:
-When is noise (visual, auditory, mental, etc) good?
-When is the best practice (ie clean design, reduce ads) not the most effective?
-How do social norms, desires, or fears influence your product/service design?

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5. Vending machines + recycling boxes

You might have heard that there are vending machines (hot and cold) all over Tokyo. This is correct -- you can't pass a handful of buildings without a vending machine or two.

One of the beautiful things about these machines is that almost all of them are paired with a recycling can. 

So, I feel comfortable holding onto my plastic bottle because I know I'll spot a vending machine -- and recycling can -- in the next minute. 

They've reduced the friction to recycling!
-many opportunities
-easy to spot and use
-paired with something I want anyway (the vending machine), rather than relying on me being a good, responsible civilian...

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Until next time! Happy Christmas, happy holidays.
Angela
angelaognev@gmail.com

P.S. See part 1 of Design in Japan? Search your email or visit  https://publishizer.com/customerology/updates/12/