Masterpieces 1970's | Panasonic Design

1970

Fashion radio Toot-a-Loop radio R-70, R-72

A Playful Pop Spirit That Captured Young Hearts

By the early 1970s, the market was saturated with portable radios, most of them featuring similar-looking square cases.
Bursting onto this scene, the Toot-a-Loop fashion radio with its objet d'art theme made a notable splash. The first radio in the series, the R-70, was a commemorative product exhibited at the Japan World Exposition in Osaka in 1970. Apollo 11 had landed on the moon a year earlier, and the Toot-a-Loop's styling with its boldly bored-out tuner meter on a futuristic spherical body was perfectly attuned to the era, widely referred to as the “space age.” It was also a time when young people were caught up in pop culture, and the positive reputation this playful radio earned led to its development into a series. One of its successors, the R-72 marketed in 1972, had a fun, ring-shaped design that enabled it to be carried wrapped around an arm, with the tuner controls appearing when the radio was twisted.
This innovative series sent a clear message to the Japanese product designers of the day, who had previously focused exclusively on rational functionality, that playfulness and fun are also important factors in design.

The MoMA Collection: (R-72)

Matsushita Electric shares traded on NYSE: Looking to the next half-century of operations, President Masaharu Matsushita emphasized the importance of contributing to worldwide prosperity and engaging in world-class research and development. Stressing that it was an ideal time to do something for the world, Chairman Konosuke Matsushita advised management that they had to change their current way of doing business - one set of policies for maintaining the Japanese domestic market, and another for increasing exports - with a unified global perspective.
The company started to build up its international capability by expanding support operations for overseas business and developing staff capable of handling international operations. One such step, in 1971, was to register the company to trade its shares on the New York Stock Exchange. By joining the stock market, the company gained in prestige and entered the community of international enterprises.

Motorola's TV Division acquired and Quasar Electronics Corporation established: On March 22, 1974, Motorola Inc. of the U.S.A. and Matsushita Electric of Japan signed a contract for the purchase of Motorola's TV operations in the U.S.A. and Canada. The purpose of the acquisition was to start a television business in the U.S.

1974

Consumer electronics series Ai-no Color Series

The Origin of the Consumer Electronics Color Series

The Ai-no Color (“color of love”) series of color-coordinated consumer electronics products responded to the younger generation's desire to color-coordinate their entire living space. It kicked off a trend toward series design in the consumer electronics market as well as toward the commercialization of color.
A survey on color preferences conducted at the start of the development project led to the selection of five products — the rice cooker, toaster oven, juicer, electric pot and toaster — for integrated color-coordination. The products were sold separately or packaged as sets to appeal to young couples who were just starting their lives together. New items were added subsequently, with a focus on kitchen appliances, and the scope of the series expanded.
The series was introduced at a time when the first-generation baby boomers were in their mid- to late twenties. The colorful consumer electronics products that decorated kitchens and dining rooms during the years in which they married and gave birth to the second generation of baby boomers seemed to embody their new-found happiness.

VHS video tape recorder with up to 4-hour recording capability: The first VHS home video, with outstanding features of long recording capability and clear and sharp screen image, was put on the market in 1977. The "2-to-4-hour VHS VTR", the VBT200, was developed in the same year to meet the consumer desire to record full-length broadcasts of American football games, an improvement over the recording time of 2 hours with the conventional VHS system.
The company actively talked with overseas companies to obtain OEM customers for the VHS video recorders. In February 1977, President Masaharu Matsushita visited leading manufacturers in the U.S. to have direct talks with their representatives. Then in March, RCA made an offer and it was decided that Matsushita Electric would supply RCA with VHS-type Video Cassette Recorders built to RCA's specifications.
The development of a VTR capable of recording for long hours prompted many manufacturers in the world to adopt the VHS system, which became the standard format for the home VTR.

Thin radio: The R-012 was a radio that was thin enough to fit into a shirt pocket. It was developed in 1977 using a new mounting technique and the creation of ultra-thin components.
It had a thickness of 12.7 mm, 1/3 the conventional thickness, and helped develop the market for pocket radios.

1977

Radio Pepper Radio R-012

Adding Value with Small Size and Lightweight

The development of a new IC chip installation method, the YM construction method, and the addition of flat speakers and flat variable condensers enabled this radio to realize a revolutionary thinness of 12.7 mm. Measuring just 127 mm high and 71 mm wide, it could slip comfortably into a shirt pocket.
The design was simplified to the utmost, and full attention was paid to communicating its “slim and compact” appeal clearly and directly. All the controls were arranged on the top, where they could be operated while the radio was inside a pocket. A satin finish was applied to the metallic silver exterior to express the product's positioning on the cutting edge of technology while simultaneously evoking a soft, human sensibility.
This Pepper Radio can be considered the pioneer in the design of portable audio devices to be worn on the body. A hot topic at the time of its launch, it established the basic style for a generation of products that created added value with “small size and lightweight.”

1977: Good Design Award
1996: Good Design Super Collection

1977

Men's electric shaver Super Razor ES820

The Handy T-shape That Established Brand Power

This was the first electric shaver to employ direct drive, which converted the motor's circular revolutions to a straight back-and-forth blade motion. The reciprocating blade shavers dominating the market at the time were big, heavy, box-shaped devices using a vibrator mechanism with a magnetic coil. By adopting a direct-drive system powered by a small motor, we succeeded in making the ES820 lighter and smaller. The slender grip housing the motor and battery is both easy to hold and easy to handle while shaving. The T-shape design assuring a safe, comfortable shave has remained a characteristic feature of our men's electric shavers up to the present day.
An immediate hit, the light, easy-to-handle ES820 boosted awareness of our brand name in the Japanese men's shaver market dramatically at a time when foreign makers held an overwhelming share.

1977: Good Design Award

1978

Component stereo Concise Compo

The Down-sized Luxury Audio System That Liberated Musical Enjoyment

The luxury audio equipment of the 1970s centered on individual components, designed to fit neatly into stereo racks, that consumers purchased separately and assembled into sets.
The Concise Compo, which featured the high specifications and sound quality normally available only with a separate pre-amp and power-amp, brought the stereo system together in an A4-size format, which was unusually small at the time. This compact size enabled users to place it on the tops of desks and other furniture or in various other places. The single-piece molded aluminum cabinet expressed the precision and real-life feel of quality audio equipment. And the 2-color LED indicators, which replaced the analog meters, reflected the product's spirit of innovation.
This innovative stereo that freed high-grade audio equipment from the heavy stereo rack and permitted its placement virtually anywhere, enabling people to enjoy music wherever they wanted, exerted a powerful impact on the Japanese audio equipment design that followed.

1978: Good Design Award

1978

Light-equipped microscope FF-393

A New Product Concept Originating with a Hinged V Configuration

One of the two cylinders comprising this innovative product was a microscope, while the other was a battery-powered light. The idea of connecting two cylinders with a hinge and setting both the microscope and light switches to turn on upon opening gave birth to the new concept of a “portable microscope that could be enjoyed anywhere.”
The unit fit easily into a pocket or bag, enabling users to take it out whenever they came across something of interest, flip it open and examine the object on the spot. Since the enlarged image was illuminated by the light, the fun of using the microscope was magnified as well.
The product's convenience not only earned it a warm reception among amateur naturalists, but it also made it an indispensable tool for professionals in the printing business and other industries that required precision instruments for product development. This long-selling product, which remained on the market for over twenty years, was selected for inclusion in the MoMA collection.

1978: Good Design Award
The MoMA Collection

1979

Lighting fixture Reeler Pendant LB16800, LB16801, LB16803, LB16804, etc.

Versatile Lighting Performance for Enhanced Home Comfort

Designed as a lighting fixture to be positioned above the dining table, the Reeler Pendant can be raised or lowered with an easy-to-grasp handle. This design allows homeowners to adjust the lighting to suit the occasion — lowering it to cast brighter light on the table during dinner, for example, and raising it to spread light over a wider area for after-dinner conversation.
The switch is located on the top of the handle, and every adjustment, including raising and lowering of the lamp, is done with the handle. Despite the installation of the switch on top of it, which could give it a rough appearance, the handle has a smooth appearance, thanks to the skillful design with its somewhat oversized, molded styling. Since lampshades tend to collect dust, this one is designed for easy removal for cleaning.
The Reeler Pendant was developed during a time when the Japanese home was being Westernized and the place for family relaxation was changing from the traditional low table with cushions on the floor to a dining table surrounded by chairs. It shattered the conventional image of lighting as emanating from a fixed position and introduced the new innovation of adjustable positioning to dining room pendants.