The Cultural Dimensions of Packaging in Japan(Feb.27)


Packaging, the wrapping of goods and materials, indeed “wrapping” even in its widest sense, is integral to human exchange and interaction. There are of course direct functional reasons for both personal and commercial packaging: physical protection; containment or agglomeration; security; information transmission, or even just for general convenience, to name but a few. However, beyond these pragmatic rationales there are important, often unspoken, cultural uses for packaging and wrapping, e.g. a package as package may have an emotional, or a communicative, or a symbolic import that is integral to the traditions of a culture. This talk proposes to introduce some of these same elements and their aspects as they inhere in Japanese packaging and wrapping practices.

Dr. Rudi Meyer holds a BFA from NSCAD University, a BA from McGill University, an MA from the University of Toronto, and a PhD from McGill University. He has taught at both McGill and Concordia University, while keeping up a freelance design practice, and is now the Director of the Master of Design Program at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD University). He has had a long association with Japan, having lived there for two years and visiting almost every year since his return to Canada to take up a position at NSCAD. He is keenly interested in Japanese design and has participated in a number of conferences devoted to the topic in Japan. His research interests also include design through use; repair and ad-hoc design as sources of innovation; flexible urban dwellings. In addition to studio courses he teaches design history and theory.

Reservations are now closed. Thank you for your interest. We will have a rush line starting 30 minutes before the event, and will start to release unclaimed seats 10 minutes before the event.