Our prototypes come equipped with a solar panel as an auxiliary means for re-charging the batteries. We’ve also conceptualized what it means to have fun when charging a mobile phone, using solar energy.
MILE
Design Project mile was formed by Bandai Matsuo (acoustic engineer), Kentaro Kai (software engineer) and Kozo Shimoyama (interior designer) in 1999 while they were still students at the University of Tsukuba. After they graduated, from 2000 to 2003, they continued the project while becoming fully active in their own respective fields. They changed the name to MILE in 2008 and started working all out as a team. As “three heads are better than one” (the Chinese character for MILE can be read as san which also means “three”), they are expanding their design activities making full use of each member’s specialty. Incorporating humor-filled storytelling, they create designs that link people, things, and space. Among the awards they have received is the Good Design Award (2006) for Something to Touch, which is a set of Wajima lacquer speakers.
Hironao Tsuboi
Product Designer
Born in Tokyo in 1980. Received B.A. in Environmental Design from Tama Art University in 2004. Established Hironao Tsuboi Design in 2006. Currently art director/designer at 100% Inc. and designed the “middle” humidifier. His achievements include a number of awards, such as the red dot award (Germany), D&AD Global Awards (U.K.), and the Good Design Award (Japan). He was also nominated as a “World Emerging Designer 40” in I.D. Magazine (2008).
