REALITY IS THE BEST STORY

Conceptualizing Conceptual Design

   In the field of conceptual product design, what matters more are the convincingness and the plausibility. As far as the stories written are flawless, as far as the narratives presented are intriguing, the other “conventional” values of design such as functionality or aesthetics become less important. When you realize this, the inevitable question that occurs to you would be; what would it be like if a design project gets infused with as many stories as possible?

   Reality Is The Best Story is a small design exhibition by Ken Tsunoda with a series of objects presented in its own installation space. You are expected to walk through the designated route while observing the presented objects and reading the wall labels, just like in any other museums. However, as you turn around the corner to walk further into the installation, you will realize you are staring at the same object you already saw earlier in the exhibition, but this time you are standing on the other side of the wall. In this exhibition, each of the objects is shown in a narrow opening on the wall, so that you can look at it from different sides, and each side of the walls has a label to explain the same object, but in very different ways.

    The goal of the exhibition is to make the visitors realize how easily the way we perceive things can be manipulated through the power of storytelling. By conceptualizing conceptual design, Ken is pushing forward its boundary and showcasing how all sorts of narratives can be imposed upon us in a convincing manner.

3 Objects, 7 Stories