MUJI is not a brand. MUJI does not make products of individuality or fashion, nor does MUJI reflect the popularity of its name in its prices. MUJI creates products with a view toward global consumption of the future. This means that we do not create products that lure customers into believing that “this is best” or “I must have this.” We would like our customers to feel the rational sense of satisfaction that comes not with “This is best,” but with “this is enough.”. “Best” becomes “enough”.
There are degrees of “enough,” however. MUJI aims to raise the standard of “enough” to the greatest extent possible. “Best” contains a faint amount of egoism and disharmony, but in “enough” we sense restraint and compromise. On the other hand, “enough” might contain a sense of resignation and a slight amount of dissatisfaction. So by raising the bar of what denotes “enough,” we cast away that resingation and slight dissatisfaction; we create a new dimension of “enough” to attain a clear and heart-felt “This is enough.” That is MUJI’s vision.
From http://www.muji.com/message/
I like this, and it resonates with my experiences with Muji stuff. But there is just a little irony in what kind of customer this would be most attractive to. It’s a kind of anti-bling — purchasing becomes a symbolic gesture of being above extravagance. It might be tempting to take that idea too far, to the extent of fetishizing Muji products. Which seems counter to the original sentiment.
Nov 9th, 2008 / 11:53 pm
I fetishise muji products. I bought a pen from muji many years ago, and a woman directing a theatre project I was involved in actually said, ‘I LOVE that you have a muji pen.’ She didn’t love the pen, she didn’t love me; she loved that I had the muji pen.
I felt ‘missed’ by her, but slowly, over about ten years (as mujis became more ubiquitous and my disposable income came more than it went) I developed my own muji fetish.
I was always sensible – I didn’t just grab handfuls of two-toed socks and kraft paper notebooks in some kind of minimalistic accessory orgy – but I did end up ‘missing’ muji in the end and only saw the anti-bling.
I’d be interested in hearing if anyone has suffered the ‘muji effect’ with another ostensibly ethical brand.
Thanks for this post. I’ll still buy muji, but I’ll take the time to appreciate what brought me there in the first place now, rather than the ‘OMG MUJI!’thing.
End of confession.
Nov 10th, 2008 / 4:29 pm
I love this. It’s a mighty fine way of saying “we believe in simplicity.”
Nov 10th, 2008 / 11:22 pm
“Happiness, the nirvana of senses and aspirations, kills creativity and innovation that are born from needs and wants.”
In John Naish’s words: “Dissatisfaction is the driver of human endeavour”.
Nov 12th, 2008 / 2:49 pm