MUJI Brown Paper Bag 1980s 無印良品紙製ショッピングバッグ 1980代

This brown paper bag is one of the early designs of MUJI’s now iconic brown paper bag. MUJI began and continues to be a brand that produces high-quality everyday goods at affordable prices. The brand is synonymous with its simple brown and maroon packaging. The primary reason for this simplicity was to counter rising prices and brand upselling during Japan’s Bubble Economy; MUJI wanted its simple product design to reflect that the value lies in the product, not the brand.  

This version is dated back to the 1980s when the brand was established. This design, as well as MUJI’s overall brand identity, is credited to their art director, 田中一光 Ikko Tanaka.  

This design features a repetitive visual of a hand holding up a card that reads “無印良品” (MUJI in Japanese). According to MUJI, this visual is a reference to the use of cards to show the correct answer in Japanese period dramas. This depiction of the brand was intentional, as it was iconic and universally understood by the Japanese masses. It communicated to the public that MUJI was the brand one should go for. This visual was also used in a newspaper and poster advertisement for the brand when it launched (see third and fourth image). Although this visual and paper bag design are no longer in use, they show MUJI’s branding consistency and its roots in minimalism and using design to support the innate value of the product, rather than having the brand overshadow the product.  

*Note: the depth (gusset) of the bag is a rough estimate as there is not concrete information available.