MASAMI DESIGN Calendar Cube (1999-)

Client: MASAMI DESIGN Co., Ltd.

The Braille division of Sanichi Kogeisha KK, Braillecom Co., Ltd., requested that Takahashi create a calendar to be used as a New Year's gift and to publicize Braille printing.

Before designing the calendar, Takahashi thought about what should be achieved, and decided to make it something that could be shared by as many people as possible, something that would inspire people as they touch it, and something that would help the user to put him/herself in others' shoes. It should also embody what universal design is all about, and eventually encourage society to become more other-centered in dealing with things and people.

Calendar Cube was designed at the end of the 20th century when there was no such phrase as "universal design" in Japan. At that time, people wondered why Takahashi was fussy about colors, shapes, and numerical fonts for the visually impaired, and interpreted such efforts (incorrectly) as being simply a matter of personal taste.

However, the shapes, sizes, and colors all have meanings, and they were necessary elements in comprising the Cube.

When assembling the Cube, the user can tell that each piece is fitted correctly by hearing a click. It is also the right size for a CD player to fit into to enjoy audio, small enough to be put on a table or anywhere within reach, and fits easily into your palm, which helps people to read the Braille.

The carefully thought-through combination of numerals and colors allows for easy reading for people with impaired vision, the elderly, children, and others. In the near future―say in five years―when this calendar becomes available at regular shops, we might hear a child asking a mother, "How do people who can't see use this calendar?" as part of everyday conversation, as Takahashi wished. Takahashi designed it thinking about the near future when this calendar would become more than a calendar and serve instrumentally in society. She hoped it would become the norm to have only one calendar in a room, and that people with and without visual impairment would share it and be inspired by it to start talking to each other.

The hexahedral cube has a calendar for six months on one side and another six months on the reverse side to make it more space-saving. It is a calendar made with a universal concept, and was introduced in an elementary school textbook*.

* "What is Universal Design?" from Atarashii Shakai (New Society) for sixth graders Vol. 2, Tokyo Shoseki, p. 28.
For the first time in a school textbook, "Designer" was being listed as a profession and Takahashi was asked to appear in it. She also was asked to pick one of her design works to be included in the textbook. She chose Calendar Cube, and wrote the accompanying text. A few years after Calendar Cube made its debut, the phrase "universal design" was invented in the U.S., and it became much easier to explain the concept behind Calendar Cube.