The Japan Package Design Association (JPDA) has been committed to the development and promotion of package design for 64 years since its first general meeting in May 1960. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all the members and board members who have supported JPDA.

Scientific and technological breakthroughs have made our lives more convenient and comfortable. Simultaneously, the development of functional packaging and logistics has evolved, which has allowed modern people to live free from the constrains of place or time. However, product packaging, which is essential to our daily lives, has a significant impact on the natural environment, and those who are involved with it have a responsibility to help build a sustainable modern society.
Rereading the “JPDA REPORT” roundtable discussion (December 1960) compiled during JPDA ‘s inaugural year, editors and executives were invited as guests to discuss what a package is in the first place. There are two types of package designs: those that are integrated and cannot be separated from their contents, and those that can be separated and discarded. Some interesting opinions were recorded, such as that car bodies and TV cabinets can also be considered package design in that the exterior and contents can be separated.
Japan has a world-class natural environment, and history shows that our ancestors respected all things and made use of the gifts of nature around them in traditional packaging. However, it is unfortunate that our unique packaging culture is being lost with time. Imagine how life was back then. What were people thinking when they wrapped things, and how did they feel at the moment they opened a package they received?
In art and design, there is an area of tacit knowledge that cannot be explained by logic. Among the five senses, the mechanism of the senses that unconsciously affect the person’s brain and body, such as touch and smell, is said to have many mysteries that even the most advanced science and technology cannot explain. Everyone develops physical senses while playing in nature during childhood, and this experience probably serves as the basis for tacit knowledge, sharpening skin senses and intuition.
A brand is a “totality of meaning” formed by a collection of tangible and intangible values. Since values that can be verbalized are easily copied, it is an important role of design and craft to work down to the unconscious level to accumulate the value of experiences in memory. This may somehow lead to “I like this”, including sensations that cannot be expressed in words.
Package design as an industry is supported by the technologies of various stakeholders and social mechanisms. Just as we can sense from traditional packages even the spirit of valuing all things, it will become increasingly important to gain awareness that will enrich future lifestyles and human minds from the inclusiveness of the Japanese spiritual culture, which takes in all things.

Package Design that Reaches People’s Hearts

In order for JPDA to be able to respond flexibly to unpredictable future social issues, it is necessary to look at package design once again from a broad conceptual perspective and incorporate examples from other design fields into the package design process to find the optimal solution from a broader view.
To this end, we would like to strengthen the cooperation of the committees in each of the four units so that the 16 committees, which form the foundation of JPDA, can be actively involved in activities individually. We would also like to apply diverse knowledge to JPDA activities by recruiting new colleagues who will support the future of package design together with us. Let’s think together and expand “package design that reaches people’s hearts” for future society, which JPDA whose background in Japanese spiritual culture can only do.

June 17, 2024
NOBUTO Yoji
President, Japan Package Design Association