JWT and Tanizawa collaborate on ‘life-saving interior design’ for earthquake-prone Japan
J. Walter Thompson and safety helmet brand Tanizawa have come together on a project that it hopes will save lives in Japan by appealing to the country’s aesthetic interests.
Japan, which was hit by an earthquake in 2011 that killed over 15,000 people, is prone to earthquakes and tremors. Safety helmet brand Tanizawa believes that more people could have been saved if they kept their safety helmets within closer reach.
In collaboration with creative agency J. Walter Thompson, the answer to the problem comes in the form of making the helmets double up as stylish items around the home.
The +MET Project has already created a lamp, which doubles up as a helmet and flashlight, and a plant pot that has a double life as a safety helmet.
+MET Project
“The challenge is that no one wants to keep a helmet around in their living space. To solve that, we decided to create a high quality design that you wouldn’t even think of as a helmet at first glance,” said Go Sohara, Executive Creative Director at J. Walter Thompson Japan.
“We worked with a professional interior designer to create these models, not a helmet designer. Our goal is to be sold not in DIY home centers, where you’d normally buy emergency equipment like this - but in home furnishing stores and variety shops,” added Sohara.
According to Tanizawa, this is just the start of the range and it plans to grow the product line over time.