Bronze Art and Stationery Supplies Design · 2025
Soroban Colette Abacus
- A' Design Award 2025 Bronze Winner in Art and Stationery Supplies Design
- Awarded April 15, 2025
- CLIENT: Asahi Printing Co., Ltd.
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 35,156
- Verification code 2103EAA502 · Verify this award
About Soroban Colette Abacus
Previously, the abacus had square corners, but it has been reborn having a gentler design featuring 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 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.
Toshihiko Sakai's Soroban Colette Abacus emerges from the rich heritage of East Asian calculating instruments while demonstrating a contemporary design sensibility that honors tradition through material refinement and chromatic innovation. The soroban, deeply embedded within mathematical education and commercial practice across generations, represents both practical computational utility and cultural continuity, serving as tangible connection to arithmetical methods predating electronic calculation while maintaining relevance as pedagogical tool fostering numerical literacy and mental agility. Sakai's interpretation seemingly engages this historical lineage while introducing aesthetic considerations that elevate the instrument beyond pure functionality into the realm of designed object worthy of contemplation for its formal and material qualities. The compositional achievement evident in this presentation demonstrates sophisticated understanding of how to honor an object's utilitarian essence while celebrating its visual presence, the horizontal emphasis and generous surrounding space allowing the abacus to command attention without artifice or unnecessary embellishment, trusting in the inherent beauty of proportional relationships and rhythmic bead arrangement to create visual interest. The chromatic choice proves particularly noteworthy, the graduated spring green palette introducing organic vitality and contemporary color sensibility to an instrument type often associated with natural wood tones or primary colors in educational contexts, this verdant hue suggesting growth, renewal, and fresh engagement with traditional forms, the color saturation carefully modulated to maintain sophistication while remaining visually accessible and inviting. The technical execution displays admirable restraint, the apparent ceramic or porcelain-like frame material suggesting durability combined with refined aesthetic, the matte surface quality contributing to an overall impression of quiet elegance rather than flashy novelty, each formal decision appearing to serve both functional clarity and visual harmony. The work invites consideration of how traditional instruments might maintain cultural relevance through thoughtful material reinterpretation, how color can refresh familiar forms without compromising their essential character, and how the careful presentation of everyday utilitarian objects can reveal unexpected beauty residing in mathematical order, repetitive structure, and the honest expression of purpose through form. One might contemplate the intersection of pedagogical function and aesthetic appreciation, questioning how objects designed primarily for practical use can simultaneously serve as vehicles for visual pleasure and material craft, how heritage forms can be honored while being gently reimagined for contemporary sensibilities, and how the simple act of thoughtful design attention can transform functional tools into objects worthy of sustained appreciation beyond their operational utility, the Soroban Colette Abacus standing as testament to the possibility that utility and beauty need not occupy separate domains but can be integrated through sensitive material selection, chromatic consideration, and formal refinement that respects both practical requirements and aesthetic aspirations.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- 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 & Packaging
- "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" - Tags
- pop, colette, eco, 20 digit, colorful
- Production Technology
- 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.
- Design Challenge
- 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.
- Project Duration
- 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.
- Operation Flow
- 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.
- Research
- 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.
- Image Credits
- N/A
- Patents
- Patent applied
Patent application 2023-176919
Colors of Soroban Colette Abacus
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