Yamaha Participates in Japan Creative; Piece to Be Exhibited at Ambiente Consumer Goods Trade Fair in Germany
Feb 4, 2014
Yamaha Participates in Japan Creative;
Piece to Be Exhibited at Ambiente Consumer Goods Trade Fair in Germany
Yamaha to exhibit creative piece made with TLF Speaker and VOCALOID™
in collaboration with noted design team
Yamaha Corporation announces its cooperation in the creation of a piece in Japan Creative (representative: Masaaki Hiromura). Japan Creative is a project to show the world the esthetic sense of Japanese production sites through collaborative creation of pieces by companies and studios working with noted creators and designers. The piece was created in collaboration with MAP, a unit run by noted design team BarberOsgerby, and will debut in the Japan Creative booth at Ambiente, an international consumer goods trade fair held in Frankfurt, Germany from February 7 to 11 (local time).
Background of Participation in Japan Creative
The piece to be exhibited at this trade fair is created in a three-way collaboration project by Japan Creative, Yamaha, and MAP. The project was led by Japan Creative, whose attention was captured by Yamaha's design. Japan Creative was the overall coordinator and producer throughout the production. MAP's designers take the lead in organizing ideas into a basic concept. Yamaha is in charge of contributing technology, such as the TLF Speaker and VOCALOID, in addition to being involved in concept creation for the design.
Piece to Be Exhibited
The piece (prototype) to be exhibited uses Yamaha's TLF Speaker (TLF stands for Thin, Light, Flexible), a light speaker just 1.5mm thick with narrow directivity and an extremely long range, as a device for experiencing sound in a new way. This is combined with VOCALOID, singing voice synthesis technology from Yamaha, to explore new acoustic possibilities.
Because sound is directly emitted from the front surface of the TLF Speaker, mixing of sound does not occur easily even when speakers are placed side by side, allowing sound to be transmitted clearly from the front of the piece. The speaker also transmits sound across a large distance with minimal attenuation even at low volumes. These characteristics make recordings of human voices sound as if a person is speaking directly to the listener. VOCALOID makes it possible to create natural, realistic singing voice simply by inputting lyrics and a melody.
The piece to be exhibited uses TLF Speaker and VOCALOID features. Through this mechanism, visitors can experience harmony that is created in the form of a virtual singing voice from independent sounds merging together.
The production process combined approaches based on three concepts: "Converge," "Zone," and "Mobile." Focus was placed on the effect of the transmission and reverberation of sound from the TLF Speaker and VOCALOID on the listener's sensory experience of the acoustics and vocals, and new consideration was given to the significance of sound in a space. This piece was the result.
A summary of the piece is also posted on one of Yamaha's websites,
http://www.yamaha.com/design/jc/
Ambiente Trade Fair and Exhibition Area of Yamaha's Piece
Ambiente is the world's largest B-to-B consumer goods trade fair. It is held every February. Manufacturers, traders, and designers of all kinds of consumer goods, including tableware, kitchenware, interior accessories, and gift items, come together to conduct active business talks with buyers from around the world.
| Name: | Ambiente |
|---|---|
| Period: | February 7 to February 11 (local time) |
| Venue: | Germany: Messe Frankfurt Ludwig-Erhard-Anlage 1, 60327 Frankfurt am Main, Germany |
| Exhibition area: | Japan Creative area |
| Official website: | http://www.ambiente.messefrankfurt.com/ |
Notes:
Details on participation, how to apply, etc. are posted on the official website.
Japan Creative
Japanese esthetics and design techniques are distinctive for their focus on careful creation of harmony amid simplicity. The Japan Creative project aims to sublimate this design sense by designing products that will enrich our lives in the future under the guidance of internationally active designers. The organization has now worked on projects with eight teams consisting of a manufacturer (company or studio) and a design team, with four new projects, including Yamaha's under way for this exhibition.
Official website: http://www.japancreative.jp/
MAP
A creative consultancy established in 2012 by Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby. Renowned for their innovative and appealing designs based on thorough research, they have been involved in such projects as Google's Web Lab, the London Science Museum, and the design of meal trays for Virgin Atlantic, in addition to providing support to help solve clients' problems.
Official website: http://mapprojectoffice.com/
Comment from Yamaha Design Laboratory General Manager Manabu Kawada
The aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake has seen a renewed appreciation of the powerful culture that Japan is so proud of, both in Japan and overseas. Despite beginning only recently, Japan Creative's work to show the world Japan's creative and high-quality production and excellent esthetic sense is already attracting attention in the Japanese and international design industry. We were extremely happy and honored to be contacted among numerous Japanese manufacturers, and to be able to collaborate with MAP, the design unit led by BarberOsgerby. The piece to be exhibited creates new possibilities for listening to music by combining new technology from Yamaha with inspiration from this noted overseas design team. I look forward to seeing the response to our piece at Ambiente, an international design trade fair.
The piece (prototype) to be exhibited
*VOCALOID is a trademark or registered trademark of Yamaha Corporation.
*Product names, names of companies, etc. mentioned in the text of this news release are trademarks or registered trademarks of Yamaha Corporation or other respective companies