100 Whites

by Kenya Hara

The world of white, from Muji art director Kenya Hara White not only plays an important role in Japanese cultures in general but also in the work of Kenya Hara, art director for Muji. In 100 Whites , Hara gives 100 examples of white, such as snow, Iceland, rice and wax. On the basis of these examples he discusses the importance of white in design―not only as a color but as a philosophy. Hara describes how he experiments with the different whites he instances, what they mean in the process of his work and how they influence design today. 100 Whites is the extension of Hara's previously published book White . The publication explores the essence of white, which Hara sees as symbolizing simplicity and subtlety. Kenya Hara (born 1958) is a Japanese graphic designer, a professor at the Musashino Art University and, since 2002, the art director for Muji. Hara has been awarded many prizes, such as the Japanese Cultural Design Award.

Genres: Design, Nonfiction, Essays, Japan, Art, Philosophy

224 pages, Hardcover

Published April 23, 2019

About the author

Kenya Hara (born 1958) is a Japanese graphic designer and curator. He is a graduate of Musashino Art University.

Hara has been the art director of Muji since 2001 and designed the opening and closing ceremony programs of the Nagano Winter Olympic Games 1998. He published Designing Design, in which he elaborates on the importance of “emptiness” in both the visual and philosophical traditions of Japan, and its application to design. In 2008, Hara partnered with fashion label Kenzo for the launch of its men's fragrance Kenzo Power.

Hara is a leading design personality in Japan and in 2000 had his own exhibition “Re-Design: The Daily Products of the 21st Century”.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[māris šteinbergs · Rating 5 out of 5]

I should’ve taken this book with me when I was in Japan!

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm calling "100 Whites" as the first book I completed in 2024, but I read it as I was traveling to see family over the winter holiday, and so it was nearly ideal:

* its format of 100 essays made it easy to read at spare moments.
* its size of a travel paperback made it convinient to tuck in my laptop bag.
* its dreamy, reflective tone made it nice to read during a break.
* its subject matter, while occasionally slightly dark, was never hard or painful.

Supposedly, the essays are supposedly a further exploration of Hara's "white" aesthetic: open, clean, inviting, basic, purified, refined, and making a background suitable for best expressing whatever is at hand. Honestly, though, maybe a full quarter of these he's just riffing about foods and drinks he likes. He's kind of taking it wherever he wants, and that's still great.

It's not the focused concept of the original "White" (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...) or the career-defining statement of "Designing Design" (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...). It's more like a set of remixes and b-sides from the "White" concept album, which is still great. You're going to want to read those first, but if you like those and want more, this is also worth the time.

[CORSAK fan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before you read this, read Whites by the author. That will give a good foundation to start on going into this book.

I like the aesthetic contemplation, as well as the accompanying poems and photographs sprinkled in between the essays. Altogether, they're tied up nicely.

Some of the essays felt like meandering rambles that had more to do with diary entries than the color white, but I found this endearing/forgiveable. After all, I don't have a published collection of 100 essays to my name, so I have room for margins of error/imperfection.

[Brian Hicks · Rating 4 out of 5]

The logical way to rate this is on a scale of 1 to 100. I'd give it about an 82. Because I liked about 82 of the 100 short essays. I had expected it to be more of the traditional zen Japanese aesthetic, but it was the voice of a modern, international professional designer. It is all about aesthetics, and I like that topic, so found it interesting even when I wasn't moved by what he was talking about...

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thought this was going to be a book about the top 100 white people in history and I was curious to see where I ranked. It’s actually about 100 different shades of white or things that kinda give off a white vibe. It was great.

[Catherine Hofmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

100 non-linear, thoughtful meditations on life, the built environment, and culture. this is a book i will come back to again and again.

[Anne Wong · Rating 5 out of 5]

beautiful book that I will come back to again and again

[Ginny Ip · Rating 5 out of 5]

my best impulse purchase yet

[Fleur · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some delightful and short descriptions about things are nice and white and interesting

[Angelina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked his other book, White, more than this one. shoutout to interlibrary loans and the Tacoma library for letting me borrow this book though!

[Sara Świda · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an inspiration ooooooh my god !

[Margaryta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rather than a literal exploration of 100 different shades of white, Hara's approach in "100 Whites" was to branch off from the concept of whiteness and consider some of the social, cultural, and aesthetic implications that arise from it. Some of the chapters were more of a stretch than others as he got a bit meandering and made it feel like there was barely any connection to the notion of "whiteness" at all. Others, meanwhile, were very meditative and pleasant to read, such as his descriptions of noodles, snow, and fruits and vegetables. As with his previous book on whiteness, Hara often pushes a more nationalist tone that portrays Japanese culture as being different and therefore somehow better, which could be a double edged sword depending on the reader's background and own opinions, although that proves to be a useful foundation for contemplation.