Hello Kitty!

One of Japan’s most iconic characters has recently turned 30 years old. This link was published one year ago but is certainly worth sharing today:

http://news.com.com/Hello+Kittys+guide+to+business+success/2100-1041_3-5756324.html

As cute as it is, Hello Kitty has the design strength of a Porsche 911 which has also remained relatively unchanged, from a visual perspective, since first introduced in the early 60’s.

It’s very rare for a designed thing to have that attribute. There’s just something about these particular objects which allow them to weather time and, thus, are also a great source of renewable money:

“…the feline has gone corporate and played a big part in Japan’s surge in design and entertainment. Sanrio pulls in about half of its $1 billion a year in revenue from the character.”

THere’s a lot to be said about the cute factor and the role it plays in culture. Here in the U.S. the majority of our culture is afraid to appear delicate and cute, but that doesn’t remain the same for Asian and even European cultures. However, this is changing in the U.S. with the future generations more accepting of cute objects…it doesn’t have to be big and tough anymore.

Check out this article the NY Times wrote: