I had hoped to win this award from the beginning, as it is the most prestigious award in Europe in the field of product design. I am happy to know that our efforts in creating products that please our customers have been recognized. What does the award mean to you, Watanabe-san?

Japan has the Good Design Award, but the Red Dot Award has a large global presence, especially in Europe. Winning this award means more media coverage and more opportunities for customers to see our products, which increases the appeal of our products.

During the development of EU32i, I intentionally mentioned the specific name of the award and told the team, “Let’s get the Red Dot!” Honda power products had not won any Red Dot Award since 2010, so I wanted to stimulate and inspire the team members.

And this year, we won the Red Dot Award in all three key business areas of Honda: automobiles, motorcycles and power products. Competition is fierce in the automobile category due to the large number of products being registered, so not being named a Red Dot Winner does not mean that the product is not good. On the contrary, our power products have a long product life span, and new products do not come out every year. So, winning the Red Dot Award in all three key business areas in the same year enhanced recognition of the three pillars of Honda business, and we enjoyed some interesting synergy effects, such as that our generators got introduced to some motorcycle media.

The EU16i, a portable generator equipped with the world's first microcomputer-controlled sine-wave inverter system, was launched by Honda in 2000, and was an explosive hit and still enjoys strong popularity, especially in North America. In the U.S., where power lines are often down in severe weather conditions such as hurricanes, people are more accustomed to using generators than in Japan. In such a culture, a portable generator weighing only 21kg (46 lb.) and easily carried by an adult must have had a big impact on customers.

When the plan came up for a full model change of EU32i, the model positioned above the EU16i in the lineup, I went to the U.S. for market research and realized that the way generators were being used had changed dramatically. I also learned that the original version of EU32i was still selling well, so we would have to make bold changes if we were to introduce an all-new model.

We then considered the recent design trends and the fact that generators are expensive products, costing several hundred thousand yen, and arrived at the concept of "Premium Intelligent Design," which is to reduce the number of elements for a simple and sleek look. Based on this concept, we proceeded with the design study, but in fact, we were experiencing a deadlock over design already at the prototyping stage.

When we get stuck is exactly when we have to distance ourselves from entrenched norms and take a broader perspective. In that sense, Mr. Watanabe's participation had a very positive effect in bringing in perspectives that we did not have within the company. We usually design our products within the company, but for this project, we wanted to create new value through collaboration with an outside designer, so we asked our associates to search for someone to join us from the concept stage. When Mr. Watanabe's name came up, I immediately said, "Let's do it," because he is a well-known product designer, and I’m a fan and have some of the products he designed.

I had always wanted to try my hand at product design for Honda, so I was delighted when I was asked. I believe that design is about designers identifying a problem and expressing how to resolve it. Even though EU32i is a portable generator, it is heavy, weighing nearly 30kg (66lb.), so the problem was how to avoid bumping it against a car or wall during transportation. Many of the generators of other companies have protectors, but we eliminated the parts of EU32i that are prone to bumping. You can't bump something that isn’t there. This is the way of “design through subtraction,” so to speak.

This is the significance of having me, an outsider, as a part of the project. In-house designers are familiar with the internal structure of the product, so it may be difficult for them to come up with the idea of “subtracting” something which already exists. I always try to focus on the concept of the product rather than the internal structure, and to think freely. After I submitted my design proposal, Mr. Isono and his team must have had a hard time finalizing it as a product.

That’s right. We could not come up with ideas such as Mr. Watanabe's. We had the blueprint of EU32i in our head and knew the exact positions of each component such as a fuel tank and engine. From the time we decided to go with Mr. Watanabe’s design until we finalized the design for mass production, we put a lot of effort into negotiating with the relevant teams, including the engineering team, which had some concerns about the strength and structure. We were determined not to compromise on either this design or the functionality.

We believe the ideal PP is one that features a “functional beauty,” where functionality is expressed as a unique shape or beautiful design. With our design, we wanted to express that both the function and form of EU32i were renewed. To be more specific, we also wanted to achieve a design that does not make EU32i look so heavy.

The EU32i is the world's smallest 3kVA (kilovolt-ampere)-class portable generator which features the largest output level in the class. That said, it still weighs 26.5kg (58lb.). So we thought it was important to make it look like a compact and lightweight product, changing the customer's mindset from "too heavy to carry" to "easier to carry than expected.” Mr. Watanabe's design was able to achieve this mindset change, so we decided to go with it.

After prototyping based on Mr. Watanabe’s design and the review process by Mr. Isono’s team, I was put in charge of designing the production model. The prototype at that time was too big, expensive and heavy to mass produce. Because I was feeling the "Premium Intelligence Design" concept was appealing, rather than rethink the design from scratch, we worked hard to make the most of the prototype design and incorporate it into the mass production model.

We were very particular about the colors. We designed the side view to look perfectly square and set the base color to black to make it look more compact. We colored the rounded corners with red as we wanted to make new changes catch the customers’ eye. Also, conventional portable generators often have a metal frame inside the plastic cover, but that would make the product larger and heavier. To achieve both the compact size and functionality that customers would want, we negotiated with the engineering team to adopt a monocoque structure with exterior panels to ensure strength without a frame.

Unlike automobiles, power products emphasize functionality over design, so it’s hard to know how well exterior design was received by our customers. That means that cost cutting first hits the area of design. However, I kept saying that design is important for power products as well. And for this project, the members of the exterior design team sincerely communicated the significance of the design, and the engineering design team worked hard to incorporate the intention of the design. I feel that the EU32i was the first power product which enabled Honda management to see the value that design can bring to the company. In other words, this product demonstrated the importance of branding through design.

The new logo also played a big role.

The logo on our power products used to be a single sticker with "HONDA" printed on it. Once the sticker is removed, you can’t tell who the manufacturer is. This would be the same as destroying Honda's identity. I really wanted to change this, so I repeatedly asked for improvements within the company. As a result, each letter of "HONDA" is now an individual sticker. I entrust the product design to the individual designers, but it is my role to make sure that the branding of such details is done right.

I do not think the significance of design will change dramatically. For automobiles, just because fuel is changed from gasoline to electricity or hydrogen, it does not mean that the purpose or act of using automobiles will change. The essence of automobiles, mobility, remains the same. Even if our business environment changes, I believe that the essential roles of a product remain the same – how to enhance convenience for people, how to make the product easy to use and how to inspire people with the product.

To that end, in 2020, I consolidated our separate design offices for automobile, motorcycle and power products into one. We are not just connecting our design facilities, but also aiming to gain synergy between the designers. Working together in the same place, we can see the design work of other divisions and we engage in conversations. I hope that each designer can apply what they gain from such conversations to design they are working on and/or to change the way they think. This will be good because when we work on the same product for a long time, our ideas tend to become fixed.

Shortly before I was put in charge of the all-new EU32i production model – it was before the Design Center was established – and I was assigned to the automobile design team as a part of the automobile-power products interdivisional job rotation system. During this assignment, I saw up close how the automobile designers negotiated with members of the engineering design and parts-related departments to realize their design ideas, and I think this experience enabled me to push through with the EU32i design.

Customers now look for more than just good-looking products. They also value the experience they gain from the products. We are constantly thinking about how we can connect our products and other creative works such as advertising to establish a brand where what Honda wants to do matches with what our customers want.

Honda wants to be a company that constantly surprises and inspires its customers and society. I’m not only talking about design. The portable power generator, the Honda Super Cub motorcycle and the boxy-looking StepWGN are all the kinds of products that did not exist before. I believe Honda's mission is to thoroughly pursue the creation of products that surprise and inspire people and society. We will continue to ask ourselves, "Will this product surprise people? Will customers take a second look when they see it on the street?” And I would like Honda to continue to be a company that people and society want to exist.