ACUMEN D ESIGN
The design team at Acumen spent
several months immersing themselves in
Japanese culture and heritage (including
several trips to Tokyo) to ensure that any
initial concepts authentically achieved the
desired balance between East and West.
Acumen initially created three unique
business class seat concepts and built
full-size mockups to be reviewed by the
airline’s development team. At this point
ANA explained that the preferred Acumen
concept was similar to a new seat concept
called Fusio, which had been developed
by Safran and presented privately to
ANA a few months earlier. As the two
concepts were similar, ANA asked Acumen
to work with Safran and develop the
Fusio seat further, from concept through
to production.
The new ANA business class seat,
named ‘THE Room’, was inspired by
modern Japanese houses and compact
living spaces. The large, flat bed surface
reflects how Japanese people live and relax
at home, using padded mattresses and
tatami mats, and also how lightweight
flexible screens are used to increase
privacy. These unique cultural insights
informed the design of THE Room in
terms of functionality, look and feel.
For the first class cabin, Acumen
partnered with Jamco to deliver a
customised new product for ANA that is
called ‘THE Suite’. The suite incorporates
many new brand signatures such as
a 43in 4K IFE screen, privacy doors, dual
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Acumen also
developed the
Aura business class
seat, a popular
offer in the B787
in-suite dining and the ability to convert
the centre pair into double suites.
Kengo Kuma’s architectural approach –
combined with Acumen’s original design
vision – enabled the team to look at the
aircraft cabin environment as a whole.
The majority of cabin interior design
programmes focus on one cabin at
a time, which often creates a disconnect
between classes. By embracing a holistic
design approach, the team created a
more seamless brand experience for
ANA’s guests.
An important aspect of Japanese
hospitality is the warm welcome that
guests receive in restaurants and hotels.
ANA wanted to reflect this welcoming feel
by creating an important brand signature
and welcome experience at Door 2, as well
as an enhanced self-service bar area at
Door 3. By merging the design language
and materials of the monuments with the
rest of the cabin, a more integrated feel
was achieved for the cabin’s look and feel.
In Japan, design has deep philosophical
meaning and purpose. When approaching
4. ACUMEN HEAVILY CUSTOMISED
SAFRAN’S FUSIO PLATFORM FOR
ANA’S BUSINESS CLASS
5. ACUMEN’S ‘BED IN THE SKY’ DESIGN
FOR BA IN 1995 WAS A LANDMARK
MOMENT IN THE AIRLINE INDUSTRY
the designs for ANA’s premium economy
and economy cabins, Acumen visualised
the seat fabric as being a large and
undiscovered canvas to explore. The
team’s aim was to incorporate design
themes that showcase Japanese culture
and connect on an emotional level with
both local people and those passengers
visiting Japan for the first time. Using a
new seat fabric construction concept from
Rohi – which uses a non-repeating pattern
to give every seat an individual look –
Acumen’s CMF experts developed a design
story, which they called ‘The Journey’.
Using digital versions of traditional
Japanese patterns, inspired by Japanese
art and kimono fabrics, a story was
created through the seat cover upholstery.
By approaching the entire aircraft as
a single space, ANA’s brand identity was
showcased, and the ‘Inspiration of Japan’
expressed to every passenger who steps
onto the aircraft, regardless of which
class they fly in.
Design is a powerful tool in building
and differentiating airline brands. Above
all, design can help to create remarkable
brand experiences that build long-lasting
emotional connections for customers,
which are more valuable to them than
just the price of the ticket.
catalogue
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“ DESIGN CAN
HELP CREATE
REMARKABLE
BRAND
EXPERIENCES”
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