Japanese products go back to black

Written by: Michael Keferl on May 9, 2007 at 6:49 am | In MARKETING IDEAS | 3 Comments

According to the Nikkei marketing journal, the last few years have seen a pretty decent resurgence of the color black（黒, pronounced “kuro”）in Japanese products, particularly concerning lifestyle and wellbeing. While often associated with dirt or being “tough” in the Western sense (The color of choice for manly gadgets and furniture), Japan brings a different perspective, associating the color with cleanliness. This is evident in the ubiquity of sumi (charcoal) products, which is used most often for filtration, particularly of water and air. This trend also carries over into lifestyle accessories such as the Iyashi，which is designed to project this feeling. Brands are now taking black, mixing its traditional clean qualities with modern design, and using it in a wide range of products.

Black makes other things easy to see. Products such as black cutting boards make it easier to cut vegetables and avoid cutting yourself, and are promoted especially for those with poor eyesight. Cotton ear cleaners and pore cleaning strips from Biore show everything you just cleaned off of yourself. Everything. How easily can you see the dirt? Well, we’d rather not show you here, so check out these pore-emptying pics at the Japanese blog Zaeega and be transported back to your pimply high school days.

Black looks professional. If you go to a small and trendy restaurant or bar, you’ll most likely see the staff wearing black aprons since white only looks clean when it actually is, and even then it doesn’t look very modern. Now, air conditioners and rice cookers are coming in black, and are appealing to both males and females. In this case, black is sleek, shiny, and modern, as evident in the $900 NJ-WS10 rice cooker from Mitsubishi.

Black is healthy. Products that are made specifically from naturally black material are popular as well, including black rice balls and soaps. Sumigaki charcoal toothpaste from Kobayashi Pharmaceuticals has been a hit since its debut in 2003, despite its dark black color. Most of us tend to like our toothpaste the color of our target tooth color, but Sumigaki takes its rough image and translates it into a feeling of
health, high quality, and efficiency.

Above all, black is simple. It’s useful because of the great contrast it provides, and the traditional role of black in Japan allows it to be embraced by feminine women as well as men.

Pictures via the above links and Yuho

Tags: Black Trends, Electronics
Category: MARKETING IDEAS
Other categories: DIGITAL LIFE, LIFESTYLE / FASHION, PRODUCT INNOVATIONS