ABOUT
DESIGNTIDE TOKYO 2025 features the Main Exhibition, showcasing works by creators selected through an open call; the Market, where visitors can purchase pieces and glimpses of ideas from the exhibitors; and Class of 2025, an exhibition by outstanding student designers. In addition, open-format talk sessions featuring experts from various fields will take place at the main venue, creating a multidimensional space of experience and energy — something that cannot be felt through flat information on websites or social media.
Furthermore, to sustain this creative energy beyond the event itself, DESIGNTIDE TOKYO 2025 aims to go beyond the conventional exhibition format by fostering connections beyond the venue during the exhibition period, enabling continuous communication and community-building among designers, and supporting the expansion of their practices into business opportunities both domestically and internationally. As a platform for contemporary Japanese design, the event seeks to present and share the current and future tides of design from Japan to the world.
ABOUT DESIGNTIDE
DESIGNTIDE TOKYO is a design event that explores and shares new waves in design through both an exhibition and a market, with a focus on product design.
Drawing on the idea of design as a shifting tide, the event highlights new currents in contemporary creative practice.
The event was originally launched as DESIGNTIDE in 2005, carrying forward the spirit of influential Tokyo-based design movements like HAPPENING and TOKYO DESIGNERS BLOCK from the 1990s and early 2000s. In 2008, it was renamed DESIGNTIDE TOKYO and held annually at Tokyo Midtown until 2012.
Now, after 12 years of silence, DESIGNTIDE TOKYO made its return in 2024—revived to ignite fresh creative energy in Tokyo and set the stage for new directions in design.
The event showcases cutting-edge, experimental works by invited designers from around the world, alongside as well as creators selected through an open call. These works go beyond commercial boundaries, expressing bold ideas and visions for the future.
The main venue itself is designed in collaboration with emerging architects and designers, transforming the space into a creative installation in its own right. Together, the works and the space create immersive experiences that offer visitors new ways of seeing and thinking.
Starting in 2025, DESIGNTIDE TOKYO will expand its activities beyond the exhibition period to further support and promote contemporary Japanese design. Initiatives will include online sales of exhibited works, spin-off projects in collaboration with partner companies, and ongoing engagement with participating designers.
By staying connected with creators, nurturing a vibrant community, and helping to open doors to new opportunities both in Japan and abroad, DESIGNTIDE TOKYO aims to grow as a platform that bridges Japanese contemporary design with the global design landscape.
VENUE DESIGN
TOUCH IT, BRING IT, PLACE IT, USE IT, WATCH IT, LEAVE IT, STOP — UPDATE IT
Touch it, bring it, place it, use it, watch it, leave it, stop — update it
Change it, add it, move it, drag it, turn it, check it, quick — unlock it
Use it, fill it, load it, view it, touch it, view it, quick — erase it
Change it, move it, drag it, turn it, lay it, check it, stop — rename it
Use it, fill it, load it, view it, touch it, sell it, now — return it
With the use of a single material system, our modular scenography proposal answers to the varying demands of all three phases of the design fair, resulting in an ever-changing exhibition setting throughout its duration.
Scenography by : UM
UM is an architecture and design collective founded in 2023 by Yuichiro Onuma, Kota Takahashi, Yuta Takahashi, and Shota Miyashita. Based in Tokyo and Brussels, the collective approaches each project without being bound to a fixed architectural style. Through dialogue among its members, who come from diverse backgrounds, as well as with clients and builders, UM continually evolves and expands its ideas and methodologies.
Yuichiro Onuma
Born in Brussels in 1986. Graduated from Keio University SFC in 2008) and the Oslo School of Architecture and Design graduate school in 2013. Co-founded UM in 2023 after working at OFFICE Kersten Geers David Van Severen and founding his own practice in 2020.
Kota Takahashi
Born in Niigata in 1986. Graduated from Shibaura Institute of Technology in 2012. Co-founded UM in 2023 after working for Kosuke Bando Architects and Issei Suma Architects (Island and office).
Yuta Takahashi
Born in Niigata in 1986. Graduated from Tokyo City University Grad School in 2012, Exchange student at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design in 2013.Co-founded UM in 2023 after working for Nikken Sekkei and AAOAA.
Shota Miyashita
Born in Aichi in 1988. Graduated from Tokyo City University Grad School in 2012. Co-founded UM in 2023 after working for Schemata Architects.
GRAPHIC DESIGN
Shifting Gradients
With social media now the dominant platform, it has become easier than ever for designers to present their work individually. So why hold a design event in Tokyo that exists beyond the level of individual expression? This question forms the backbone of our graphic concept.
Social media offers immediacy—images and videos flow endlessly past our eyes. An event, however, cannot take such a passive form. It demands that people physically come, and therefore must offer something special—an experience that can only be felt on site.
The event graphics for DESIGNTIDE TOKYO are designed to be something to be experienced rather than merely viewed—functioning only when actively engaged with. It also serves as an experimental trial in printed graphics.
The second-year main concept is “Shifting Gradients.” Using two slits, we set out to create a printed graphic that moves. At first, the staff wondered, “How?”—but through repeated testing, we achieved the effect of motion within print. The website for this edition employs a similar technique. Rather than the typical smooth, continuous gradient, this is a new approach—one that shifts dynamically, inviting viewers to participate in its movement.
We hope the event graphics themselves will become part of that special, embodied experience.
Please come and see it in motion for yourself.
There There Ltd.
MEMBER
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Director:
- Hirofumi Akimoto (E&Y Co.,Ltd.)
- Jill Singer (Sight Unseen)
- Monica Khemsurov (Sight Unseen)
- Oli Stratford (Disegno Journal)
- Yuri Suzuki (Yuri Suzuki Ltd.)
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Art Directior:
- Kazune Watanabe (There There Ltd.)
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Constructor:
- Yuki Shibata (TANK,Ltd.)
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Market producer:
- Koji Yamamoto (OCTBR / Ilmm)
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Editor:
- Hiroyuki Yamaguchi (good and son)
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Project manager:
- Akiko Saito (Components.)
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Collaborator:
- Irene Yamaguchi
- Shi Xiaojun
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Supervisor:
- Misako Fujimoto (inu.llc)
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Founder:
- Tsuyoshi Matsuzawa (E&Y Co.,Ltd.)