Muji creates a unique vision of Tokyo in Paris

Tokyo’s lack of a distinctive skyline is sometimes seen as a disadvantage, but it also affords creative freedom. Muji has composed a mural presenting its own view of the city using pens—37,968 of them to be exact. The work is a collaboration with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and serves as a promotion for Tokyo as well as for Muji.

R/GA created the Tokyo Pen Pixel installation using projection mapping to bring the scene to life and imbue it with different moods. It’s on display at Muji’s Forum des Halles store in Paris until 17 December. Muji will then give the pens away to customers, according to a statement.

R/GA Tokyo ECD George Sugitomo said in the statement that “the aim was to celebrate the vibrant colours of our city, and elevate an everyday product synomymous with the brand into something beautiful and unexpected”.

Campaign’s view: We’re not sure if most people associate Muji with pens, but the work is striking and certainly does elevate this humble instrument to another realm, just as a recent OK Go video did for Double A paper. It's another nice example of technology being used to create something that's greater than the sum of its parts. Muji is as undefined as Tokyo in terms of its products, which gives it plenty of flexibility as it looks to build its ‘anti-brand’ internationally.