Meet Yukiko from Japan

Subject: Industrial Design
Age: 29
Country: Japan

My Japanese professor said: Go to Denmark!
Danish educators are committed and friendly, students produce high-quality work, and the country is filled with beautiful design.

Yukiko Izumi is an interior decorator, and she studied furniture design at Bunka Gakuen University in Tokyo where she has also worked as an instructor for five years.

- My dream is to become a design teacher. When I spoke to my professor about it, he said: I recommend you go to Denmark, because they have high-quality design studies there, says this 29-year-old student who went to Denmark to visit the design schools before she applied for admission.

This is where I want to study
- When I visited Design School Kolding, I felt deep in my heart that this was the place for me! The teachers were kind towards me, I saw high-quality student-work, and I witnessed an active and very lively atmosphere at the school, says Yukiko Izumi, who has not been disappointed by studying in Denmark.

- All the students here are committed to their work and have a really strong sense of design. Their work is characterised by high quality – actually, it could be sold in a store as it is. I also love the fact that you find students from all over the world here. I began my studies here in August 2015, and I have already designed new packaging and worked with social innovation along with fellow students from the Czech Republic, France, the US and China. I am looking forward to the next project – to do design for the elderly along with fellow students from the Netherlands and Germany,says Yukiko Izumi.

Yukiko Izumi was surprised to learn that Danish students start working on projects as soon as they have discussed them – in Japan you do research before you turn to the drawing board and the actual materials.

A good atmosphere at the school
- The Japanese know Denmark from Hans Christian Andersen and The Little Mermaid, and there are common features in Danish and Japanese design – both are simple and based on everyday life. The colours are different, though. I want to teach the Danes and other Europeans about Japan and Japanese design, e.g. kimonos, crafts, animation and cartoons. I want to preserve the traditional techniques that are threatened today, says Yukiko Izumi, who has designed furniture in wood for example.

When she finishes her master's degree in 2017 at Design School Kolding, Yukiko Izumi plans to secure several years of experience as a designer – preferably in Denmark. Then, she will go for her dream job as a design teacher.

- My own Danish teachers are highly competent and very nice, and there is a good atmosphere at the school. The Danes are friendly, and I have easy access to nature as well as beautiful design, says this Japanese design student in conclusion.