Soroban Colette Boulier par Toshihiko Sakai

Le design Soroban Colette Boulier par Toshihiko Sakai est un lauréat très estimé du prestigieux 2025 A' Design Award de Bronze dans la catégorie Fournitures d'Art.

BronzeFournitures d'Art· 2025

Soroban Colette Boulier

par Toshihiko Sakai

Client : Asahi Printing Co., Ltd.

Lauréat du A' Design Award de Bronze dans la catégorie Fournitures d'Art

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Couleurs

Le Design

À propos de Soroban Colette Boulier

Auparavant, le boulier présentait des coins carrés, mais il a été repensé avec un design plus doux aux coins arrondis afin que les enfants puissent l'utiliser sans craindre d'endommager quelque chose avec cet objet. La conception n'utilise ni vis, ni clous, ni colle, ce qui en fait un produit sûr pour les jeunes enfants. Grâce à une variété de couleurs appréciées des enfants, les options se sont élargies. De plus, le nombre de pièces a été réduit de 40%, rendant la fabrication plus simple et plus efficace.

La Reconnaissance

À propos du A' Design Award de Bronze

Soroban Colette Boulier est lauréat de l'A' Design Award de Bronze, une reconnaissance hautement prestigieuse décernée à des designs remarquables qui se distinguent par leur créativité, leur ingéniosité et leur sagacité. Les lauréats Bronze sont des artefacts amplement habiles et d'une créativité frappante, qui authentifient la vaste expérience, l'imagination et l'ingéniosité de leurs concepteurs. Soroban Colette Boulier est censé être un objet très estimé, admiré et chéri, remarquablement professionnel et innovant. Ce design lauréat de l'A' Design Award de Bronze intègre les meilleures pratiques de l'art, de la science, du design et de la technologie, et est excellent par son souci du détail. Soroban Colette Boulier satisfait admirablement les besoins, touche les désirs, charme les sentiments et attire la curiosité.

Les coulisses du design

Dossier de presse

Crédits, membres de l'équipe et détails techniques fournis par le designer.

Propriétés Uniques: Previously, the abacus had square corners, but it has been reborn to gentler design having rounded corners so that children can use it without worrying about damaging something with the item. The design does not use screws, nails, or adhesive, making it a highly safe product for younger children. By having a variety of colors that children like, the options have expanded. Additionally, the number of parts has been reduced by 40%, making manufacturing simpler and more efficient.
Dimensions & Emballage: "Traditional abacuses were mostly 23 digits, but this product has 20 digits, making it ideal for beginners. As a result, it is now A4-sized and can be stored neatly in a school bag.

The main body is made of resin, which is stably supplied, and the weight as well as the size are similar to those of conventional products.

Number of digits: 20
Material: main body from recycled polycarbonate, beads from polystyrene
Package: paper box with a cover case
Weight: 158g
Length 60mm x width 283mm x height 17mm"
Mots-Clés: pop, colette, eco, 20 digit, colorful
Technologie de Production: Traditionally, abacuses were made from hard, heavy wood such as boxwood, which are endangered species and hard to obtain. Over 60% of the product weight is of upcycled materials. By integrally molding the beam and shaft parts like a fishbone, we succeeded in reducing the number of parts by more than 30% compared to conventional products. With all the efforts combined, we have established manufacturing that does not rely too much on individual craftmen.
Défi de Conception: A modern arrangement has been added without disrupting the traditional use of the abacus. Additionally, since it will be used by children, we aimed for a safe design with no angular corners and no screws or nails. The most time-consuming task was to come up with a frame structure that integrated the beam and shaft in order to reduce man-hours. In terms of materials, from a sustainability perspective, we had to maintain enough strength while using recycled resin, which was a challenge.
Recherche: The traditional manufacturing of abacuses is a cottage industry, involving nearly 200 steps, each of which is highly specialized, requiring a large number of workers to manufacture one abacus.

Due to the decrease in successors, the production volume has dropped to about 150,000 per year, about one-twentieth from the peak of 3 million abacuses, making it difficult for abacus schools to secure the necessary quantities.

In addition, the raw material ebony is dependent on imports, and domestic boxwood is rated as endangered on the Fukuoka Prefecture Red List, making it depleted and in need of protection.
Inspiration: The abacus was introduced to Japan as calculator 450 years ago, and is popular even today as a traditional skill learning and brain training for children. However, as the design variations are limited because it is made of wood and traditional manufacturing process, children are currently unable to choose one that suits their preference. Manufacturing sites are facing problems such as aging of craftsmen, lack of successors, and less materials, and this shows the possibility that traditional abacus education will be reduced due to the shortage of abacuses, “sorobans” in Japanese. It is also required that newly developed products are eco-friendly.
Durée du Projet: The project was started in January, 2021, and was completed in April, 2024, It took 3 years for us to reserch and realize an ideal product.
Flux Opérationnel: An abacus is designed to make it easy to understand the decimal system, with each column representing one digit. The thing that runs horizontally and divides the bead into one and four parts is called a beam. The beads at the top of it are called 5-beads, and correspond to five beads at the bottom. Use your thumb to move a 1-bead, and your index finger to move the rest. With this small abacus, users can add, subtract, multiply, and divide.
Brevets: Patent applied
Patent application 2023-176919
Membres de l'Équipe: Toshihiko Sakai
Crédits Images: N/A