Yamaguchi Hikaru

The piece is a home-use step stool designed in consideration of the need for child safety. Step stools have been used in Japanese families since a long time ago for various purposes in daily living. Today, multipurpose stools such as foldable ones are commonly used. However, in terms of safety they have more dangerous parts than the conventional type. The concerns become particularly apparent whenever children use such stools. Therefore, to address such safety concerns we have designed a stool under the theme of a “child-friendly stool that ensures peace of mind for adults and guardians.”

Suo-Oshima Town, Yamaguchi Prefectural University, and Suo-Oshima High School signed an agreement of comprehensive cooperation on April 28, 2021. Professor Mizutani was asked to be the representative researcher to begin the “Suo-Oshima High School Aloha Project 2021.” With this project as the starting point, a joint collaboration was carried out on the promotion of Hawaiian culture through design in Suo-Oshima Town. This paper will investigate the Hawaiian culture promotion plan with particular focus on aloha shirts. In addition, as a practical study of design, it will verify the results of the workshops on making Hawaiian shirts, the fashion show, and the design exchanges which took place online. Finally, future challenges were identified for the purpose of contributing to the branding of Suo-Oshima Town through Hawaiian culture promotion.