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Kosho Tsuboi (坪井 浩尚) is a Japanese product designer.

Born in Tokyo and grew up in Shizuoka. Graduated from the Environmental Design Department of Tama Art University in 2004. After graduating from the university, he lived in a Zen temple, Sotoshu Daihonzan Sojiji, as a trainee. In 2008, he established Kosho Tsuboi Design. Based on the philosophy of Zen, he has a reputation for his approaches that flexibly and sharply understand the environment of the subject and breathe unique life into things. He has worked on a wide range of products, mainly industrial design.

His representative works include an electric device “Magic Calendar” for Google, an audio speaker “Gravity” for a Chinese smartphone company Meizu , a mobile phone “LIGHT POOL” for a Japanese telecommunication carrier KDDI, a chair “OMEGA” for an Italian furniture company Arflex , and a glass “Sakurasaku glass” for a Japanese lifestyle product brand 100% etc. Received many domestic and international design awards. (See below)

His experience of buddhist training also influenced the underlying idea of his design activities, and he was featured with Mr. Shunmyō Masuno, a Japanese garden designer and a priest, and unravel Zen from the viewpoint of product design in the Japanese magazine “BRUTUS” February 2017 issue. Mr. Shunmyō Masuno was also a teacher when he was in university.

In recent years, he often talks about the concept of "Missing" as his design theme, and saying ”It is not just to harmonize with the surroundings by scraping down elements "to make it simple“ or ”to weaken the presence", but it is how to create a feeling of richness in space and how to create a texture of new human emotions”. That thought is brought from his experience of Buddhist training, and also leads to the concept “not to simplify, but to maximize” of Zen like design. It has been noticed as a new theme replacing "Less is More / Less but More" that is often mentioned as the current design theme.

2008-2010 Tama Art University part-time lecturer.

Biography

 * 1980  Born in Tokyo, grew up in Shizuoka.
 * 2004  Graduated from the Environmental Design Department of Tama Art University
 * 2004  Lived in a Zen temple, Sotoshu Daihonzan Sojiji as a trainee
 * 2006  Established HIRONAO TSUBOI DESIGN
 * 2008  Established KOSHO TSUBOI DESIGN
 * 2008 -10 Tama Art University part-time lecturer in Tama Art University

Representative works

 * 2007 Sakurasaku Glass
 * 2007 Lamp / Lamp
 * 2007 Magnet Tack
 * 2008 Humidifer
 * 2008 LED Watch
 * 2010 Lightpool
 * 2012 Omega
 * 2012 VOL
 * 2017 Gravity
 * 2017 EP2X
 * 2017 Magic Calendar

Awards

 * Red Dot Design Award (Germany）
 * D&AD Global Award（UK）
 * Good Design Award（Japan）
 * I.D.Magazine『World emerging designers 40』（USA）
 * D&AD『Creative Faces』Japan's most exciting new design talent （UK）
 * ELLE DECOR Japan『YOUNG JAPANESE DESIGN TALENT 2010』（Japan）
 * One Show Design（USA）
 * WIRED UK「THE WIRED WORLD Best 5 up-coming design in 2017」（UK）
 * Google Android Experiments Object Grand prix（Japan）

Exhibitions

 * 2006 100%Design London
 * 2007 FORMEX
 * 2007 Milano Salone
 * 2008 Ambiente
 * 2008 DESIGNTIDE TOKYO
 * 2009 Maison & Objet Paris
 * 2009 PROTOTYPE03
 * 2017 Media Ambition Tokyo