Learning from Yumeji’s “friend library”: the potential for building in-person experiences in social media
August 27, 2024
While in Japan this summer, we had the pleasure to pilot VIVACE’s learning games in the art cafe of the Yumeji Art Museum in Okayama, Japan. Discovering Yumeji’s art in the context of our gamification projects, along with meeting the team that runs the museum and art cafe, was a profound experience that we believe has important lessons for today's biggest social media companies.
Yumeji Takehisa (1884 – 1934) was a Japanese poet and painter known foremost for his Nihonga illustrations of women, as well as a wide variety of works including book covers, newspaper illustrations, postcards and patterned paper. His dreamy, romantic style and use of vibrant colors captured the hearts of many people during his time and continues to do so today.
The Yumeji Art Museum was created from the house where he grew up. He carried a particular affection for his home town Okayama and, more importantly, the art found daily life, which is embodied in the French concept of “l’art de vivre.”
The art of living truly resonates in Yumeji’s art café, located in the museum. It is a special creation: a combination of a functional cafe and a design space curated by Eiji Mitooka, the Japanese industrial designer and illustrator. Each table and chair is a work of art in itself, as are the drinks and meals served to customers. Workshops are offered to create art, and we had the honor to introduce our conversation and learning games as a way to build human connection into the mix.
Our game pilot in the art cafe of Yumeji and Mitooka has a profound learning lesson for social media companies today. In this space, we are reminded of several important aspects of friendship, art and social connection that stand to be enhanced in the social media experience, and how social media companies can work towards creating experience-driven “friend libraries” just like the one of Yumeji. Below are a few key takeaways:
Cosiness. Yumeji is considered the forefather of kawaii (“cute”) culture in Japan. Closely linked to cuteness is cosy-ness, a concept associated with friendship and cafes in many cultures… whether in Budapest, Copenhagen or New York. I often wonder if the television series Friends was the biggest trigger in making the Starbucks business model a success, and perhaps contributing to that of Facebook. What would happen if you combined the cosiness of Yumeji's art cafe with the technological power of social media?
Connection. During our visit, we had the chance to pilot three of our games - Friends At Any Age, HabitGo and Confidence Is Boss. As we played our learning games in the art cafe, we discovered participants becoming friends through shared experiences and conversations. It was a beautiful example of how the everyday acts of eating and having a conversation can truly build the social connction that is part of "whole health".
Art and design. Eiji Mitooka's design of the art cafe adds another layer to the overall experience, making it not just a place to grab coffee but a destination that engages all senses. While there are many works of art that are on display in social media today, generally the platforms are more about exhibition than original creation. In Yumeji’s art cafe, we are surrounded by all sorts of original creations and our creativity is actively stimulated.
Hometown. Despite leaving to study and work in Tokyo and abroad, Yumeji's hometown and roots in Okayama remained important throughout his life and work. In creating in-person experiences for users, social media companies can also bring back the spirit and energy of a hometown, even one that has dramatically changed over the years.
Yumeji's art cafe, traces of which are seen in his “friend library” poster series, is not only a place to enjoy food and drinks, but also a social hub where individuals from all over the world can connect and share their thoughts, ideas and creativity. The experience made me think back to a visit to Facebook's campus at Hacker Way in 2017. What if Meta offered all of those experiences - ranging from food, artwork, sports, arcades and ice cream - to all users, not only employees?
Yumeji's cafe highlights the importance of balancing technology with real-life experiences, something that social media companies must greatly reinforce in order to enhance user experience and overall well-being. By incorporating elements such as cosiness, art, experience, novelty and hometown pride through in-person experiences, social media companies can combat overreliance on screen time and feelings of loneliness and isolation.
Our experience at Yumeji's art cafe reminded us of the value of authentic human connection in today's digital age. We hope that this lesson can inspire social media companies to not only focus on the technological aspect of their platforms, but also on creating real life, in-person spaces that foster genuine human connections and experiences.
CPM
