Mikimoto, Product Catalogue
Project
Design and production management for the 2016-17 Mikimoto product catalogue.
Description
This unique, one-of-a-kind catalogue was inspired by “Kizen”, a concept used by the Japanese in the medieval ages to describe the anticipation or swelling of possibility before something happens; the moment before delight overows; a seed just prior to sprouting; the fully prepared bud awaiting its flowering; the 14-day moon, just before it becomes full; water whose surface tension has grown and is about to spill over.
“Kizen" represents a latent space in which all events, facts and conditions abide peacefully in a free state immediately before they are revealed, expressed, or developed in the non-virtual world.
We developed a poetic narrative to accompany each product and to give it context. The texts set the reader up for the revealing of the jewelry piece on the following page. Each page incorporated a cut-out which related to the piece itself.
Catalogue text:
The brimming, electric air before a cloudburst
The big, deep breath before diving in
The slow, dreamy rise of alpenglow before it vanishes into night
The milk-white sky holding back a downpour of snowakes
The gradual unveiling of a full moon
The graceful uncurling of a fragrant, white blossom
The wide elds luminous with a spatter of morning dew
The undisturbed, silky surface of a lake before rainfall
The hush of a vast night sky, red up by a shooting star
The sweet invitation of an unopened gift
Design
Completed 2016
Erin Bazos, Designer