Toyota's Tetsuya Kaida on Changing Global Creative and Conceptual Trends
October 15, 2009

Does building cars out of seaweed sound out of this world? Not necessarily so to Tetsuya Kaida, founder and general manager of TMC's BR Corporate Value Creation Department.

He will talk about how Toyota is adapting to changing global trends in lifestyles, values, cultures, and emotions.

Kaida, who is known for integrating philosophical ideas into conceptual work and, finally, into actual design, heads a department that operates as an internal business strategy consultancy within TMC and has recentely opened a "concierge desk" for internal engineers and TMC creators aiming to do more than the usual "good job".

Kaida created the Business Revolution Corporate Value Project Department in January 2007 after working for Toyota for nearly 25 years in several divisions, including service, marketing development, and product planning.

Kaida has argued for designing kinder, gentler cars inspired by Japanese culture and its emphasis on harmony with nature. In keeping with that philosophy, Toyota has come out with concept cars with transparent floors, huge windows and doors that slide like Japanese "shoji'' screens, and a version of the Prius made with a lighter material called carbon fiber reinforced plastic.

Introduction by Shin Sano.