October 1, 2013
Associate Professor Takashi Iba of the Faculty of Policy Management and the Iba Laboratory have won the Good Design Award 2013 for their book, "Presentation Patterns: Hints for Expressions that Induce Creativity," published by Keio University Press in February 2013.
This award, sponsored by the Japan Institute of Design Promotion, is a comprehensive design promotion system that honors "good design" which enriches our lives, industry, and society as a whole.
The award-winning book compiles the secrets of "creative presentations" that spark ideas and discoveries in the audience, using a format called "Pattern Language." It introduces 34 patterns, each summarizing in a small unit what kind of "problem" is likely to arise in a given "situation" when creating a presentation and how to "solve" it. It is designed and structured to support skill improvement that builds on the individual's personality by gradually incorporating these 34 secrets.
This book is based on the results of a research project conducted by the Iba Laboratory in 2011. It was created by a team of 15 members: project leader and faculty advisor Takashi Iba, and students who were then first- to fourth-year undergraduates—Mami Sakamoto, Kana Matsumura, Rinko Arao, Yosuke Yanao, Masahiro Hamada, Daiki Muramatsu, Aya Matsumoto, Kaori Harasawa, Eri Shimomukai, Emiri Nakano, Satoshi Nishina, Ai Nomura, Sayaka Yasuura, and Yuka Yamaguchi. The project also won the SFC Student Award in fiscal year 2011.
The book received the award with the following evaluation from the Good Design Award jury: "In today's society, where communication is highly valued, opportunities for presentations are increasing. Young people now have many such opportunities, and there are things that the older generation may struggle to convey effectively. This book clearly organizes the secrets (such as perspectives and ways of thinking) for promoting an essential understanding of presentations. It is finished in a way that is easy for students to read, using witty illustrations and copy, and we have evaluated it from the perspective of editorial design. We also have high hopes for it as a guide to design awareness, which requires an understanding of the other party."
The book will be exhibited at the "Good Design Exhibition 2013," held at Tokyo Midtown from October 30 to November 4, 2013.
Comment from Associate Professor Takashi Iba
This book is written based on "Pattern Language," a method for describing practical knowledge. This method was devised in the field of architectural design and became widespread in the field of software design. Currently, at the Iba Laboratory, we are working on applying it to the design of creative human activities. I am delighted that one of the results of our work has been recognized from a "design" perspective. We created everything in this book ourselves with great care, not only the content and text but also the illustrations and layout. When you see it in a bookstore, it may look like any other "presentation book," but I hope this will be an opportunity for people to realize that its "construction" is completely different.
In the future, the Iba Laboratory plans to work on publishing companion volumes to this award-winning work, such as "Learning Patterns" and "Collaboration Patterns," as well as supporting creative activities in entirely new fields—such as disaster prevention, education, organizational change, global lifestyles, and the revitalization of Japanese methods. We look forward to your continued support and encouragement.
Posted by: Shonan Fujisawa Campus (SFC) Office, General Affairs (Public Relations) Section