PROJECT

SOCIAL HARMONY

Musical-score style social distancing mats that create melodies when stepped on. Implemented in commercial and public spaces, becoming a globally recognized design solution. Featured on NTV's "news zero," adopted at various commercial facilities

WHY

Will our new way
of life be nothing
but mental constraints?

The first case of coronavirus infection (COVID-19) was confirmed in December 2019 and has quickly spread all around the world. It has become one of the largest infectious diseases in History. As of November 2020, the virus had already claimed more than 1.4 million lives worldwide, and there is still no prospect of full containment.
To prevent the spread of the virus through droplets, such as coughs and sneezes, governments are asking people to respect social distances and wear masks.
The response to these policies varies from country to country, but it is undeniable that the coronavirus has changed our way of life dramatically. Are there ways to improve the current situation, where social constraints make life more or less straitened for citizens?

HOW

Playing “music”
with social distancing.

To help face the spread of COVID-19, Eisuke Tachikawa, CEO of NOSIGNER, launched PANDAID, a collaborative website to go through the pandemic. The posters he presented on the website to emphasise the importance of “ social distance ” went viral on social media, and PANDAID is now known worldwide as an infectious disease countermeasure website making the most of the strength of design.
As part of this activity, we developed “SOCIAL HARMONY”, a signage system that plays notes of music when you stand on a musical score on the floor.
The music score used in “SOCIAL HARMONY” is “Gymnopédie nº1” by Eric Satie. Each note on the score triggers a different sound, so the order in which the notes are played changes with your own course, and their rhythm with your own pace. This means that everyone can play a once-in-a-lifetime “Gymnopédie nº1” that can only be played by that particular person in that particular place. By making the most of the power of classical music, culture and art, we aimed to sublimate the act of social distance itself and make it into a rich way of communication between people.

WILL

Towards a society that
can play with measures
against infectious diseases.

SOCIAL HARMONY has already been placed at the Yokohama Minatomirai Hall and at the entrance of the DESIGNART TOKYO 2020 design event, and we aim to expand its use even more by strengthening our cooperation with local governments, public facilities, and store personnel.

We wish for a society where people can live their life in a fun and safe way. We have created not only SOCIAL HARMONY, but also PANDAID posters for social distance and playful floor stickers ( LIFECOIN Stickers ).
As Sho Sakurai of ARASHI commented when this work was introduced on Nippon TV’s “News Zero”, we wish to “bring the pandemic to a halt like a decrescendo on a music score”.