A4 Black & White MFPMX-B455W
ProductYukio Kanaoka
A Cool A4 MFP
The main target of this A4 multifunction printer (MFP) is North America. In North America, legal-size paper, which is a size that is slightly larger than A4, is popular. Due to this specification, the scanner at the very top becomes wider than the body of the unit, creating an unbalanced structure with a high center of gravity. The solution that I finally reached through design was to unify the unit from the scanner down to the paper tray at the very bottom with curved sides. Even slight curvature variations greatly changed the appearance of these curved sides, however, resulting in optical illusions, including making the form seem bent and causing the entire device to look like it was tilting backward. Very difficult engineering challenges also arose with the design. Finding “just the right curvature” to solve these design and engineering issues was the most difficult. Those struggles paid off, though, when the product was praised in the North American market for its “cool” design. (This MFP received a 2019 iF DESIGN AWARD!)
On weekends, I take carefree car trips, going wherever my heart leads me. Sometimes I head out in the morning with “Let’s go see the exhibition everyone is talking about now!” or something like that in mind. Then, I get caught up in side trips and do not arrive until after noon… After rushing through the show, I enjoy taking my time at a nearby mountain or campsite, sleeping in my car or visiting a hot spring.
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金岡 幸雄
Yukio Kanaoka
