GK is a design company offering design to society. GK is responding to a client’s needs with twelve group companies specializing in design of product, architecture, package and digital technology. This is what the organization called as GK Design Group. A design company has its very significance in satisfying a client with offering a solution through design.
Design is aiming at raising and evolving social order by expressing people’s mind in a tangible thing. Therefore the state of our mind is important. The nature of people is selfish and their thoughts vary in tens and thousands of ways, so that not every person’s thoughts is workable for a good ethics. Naturally we need a deep insight of human nature. However a society might have its own traditional rule, we need to step forward. Because humans are creatures need to evolve.
To materialize our minds, it is possible only if the society masters systematized engineering and manufacturing technology. Needless to say economy should be concerned first. Engineering technology is a primary condition to realize our mind. Of course the technology only is not necessarily make our dream like thoughts realized. However, we should not forget that keep dreaming often makes a foothold of the development of the engineering.
Design is quite so as engineering. However our thoughts is materialized in any manner, its form must be beautiful. When a thing becomes into a beautiful form, it is the design’s very true value. On the history of art, humanizing a machine by giving it formative expression was a big epoch-making development. Moreover, it makes a goal to have material things able to co-exist with natural environment in harmony to each other because the reason of its existence will be denied if the co-existence is not materialized. Important matter is to deepen understanding of human nature. It means that one could contribute one’s thoughts to deepening insight of human nature by painstaking quest of one’s goal and honing humanity of oneself. Sooner or later, natural resources will inevitably be used up. A product with some peculiarity only can not be valued. The bottom line is how to make precious resources develop into a product appealing to users’ intellectual interest. It is the very mission for designers to image and clearly focus on people’s future lifestyle. GK is seeking for that.
GK Design Group was established in 1952 as a creative entity calling for “democratization of beauty.” Since then the group has been developing into an organization, by widening its realms of service through a variety of activities, with network of 12 companies having their offices not only in Japan but also in US, the Netherlands and China. The principles of its activities are comprised of three propeller like central structure as “business, movement, research.” Its activities are not limited in mere design businesses, the organization has been expanding its social meaning by movement and deepening the thoughts on design through studying design itself. In the course of the development, a philosophy called “Dougu Concept” unique to GK has been heavily involved. It could be asserted that “Dougu” means every thing humans created. “Dougu” needs views on technologies and economics in the course of becoming socially viable, however, the essence is to become a useful existence in its user’s venue of life. GK Design Group takes should-be way of Dougu in the surroundings of its use as primary concern, and puts serious attitude on seeking the essence of a subject. On these principles, GK has been expanding its active objectives from a soy sauce dispenser to a bullet train and urban space, and moreover to a virtual environment. Rich experience and track record for more than half a century and multi-discipline practice of diverse professional realms are the significance of GK Design Group.
Now, GK Design Group is aiming at further progress as a creative industry to create “new value.” Many issues that society of our times facing should be solved in global vision. What could design do on wider issues such as global warming, problems for all humans in common, ever changing global economy and moreover desire for peace of mind that today’s society is harboring? We are going to contemplate them through creation of things, systems and nurturing human capability.
Design is not limited to a conduct of transferring function and form. What GK should ask today’s design field is if the field is able to be a pioneer creating value for tomorrow. We consider that among many kinds of design conduct “new value” is the mission. The mission suggests to create widely diverse value such as cultural one creating beauty and emotion, social value to solve issues of environment, aging, building a regional society, different aspects of socio-econo value and many others. GK’s ultimate aim is to create well-being of society and humans through value created by design. GK is a professional entity seeking the essence of things, matters and space, at the same time it is a creative industry procreating a “new value.”