Designer has vision for 10-year diary

Jo Kwang-mee, creative director and CEO of JKMDesign, holds the 10-year diary. / Courtesy of JKMDesign

By Yun Suh-young

"What's a 10-year diary? You use it for 10 years?"

This is the typical reaction when people first encounter the unfamiliar product dubbed the "10-year diary."

A 10-year diary is, literally, a diary to be used for a decade. But what differentiates it from regular diaries is not just its thickness. Each page has 10 boxes with the same date but different year written on it. In other words, users will be able to see a 10-year schedule of the same date all in one page.

"I wanted to create a diary which helps people to look back on themselves. This is a diary for self-designing which means it helps you design your future and reflect on your past," said Jo Kwang-mee, creative director and CEO of JKMDesign, who created the diary.

"You cannot but inevitably see what you did today last year or the year before. You would contemplate your past actions and plan for a better future through the pages."

Jo is a package designer who began her design career as creative director of Coca-Cola's local bottling company, Woosung Food, from 1985 through 1999. At the time, Coca-Cola didn't have a regional office and had several local companies producing and distributing its products. When Coca-Cola established its own office here, Jo decided to set off on her own.

While working as a freelancer, she started to receive work from former clients and decided to build her own company the following year. She designed product packaging for Shilla Hotels & Resorts, Cheil Worldwide, Samsung Electronics, Well Story and KT&G to name a few big brands. Jo boasts package designs that have a strong character of their own, with a story that reflects the brand's philosophy. Last November, her company was the winner of the Red Dot Award 2015 for food packaging with Hae Tong Ryeong, a small seafood brand in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province.

It was while working as a busy entrepreneur that she decided to create the diary.

"I planned this diary five years ago after personally feeling the need for one like this. I needed a book where I could record my daily life as well as plan my future. If you're in a position at the top as a leader, you need a platform to organize your mind. Recalling your thoughts and visualizing them through a record is entirely different," said Jo.

"Also, whenever I wanted to give a present to someone, I couldn't find the right item. I wanted to give them something special that is meaningful and memorable."

Reactions of the recipients of the diary are positive.

"Recently, I gave the diary to my husband's uncle as a retirement present. He'd been wondering how to spend the rest of his life. He immediately sent me a photo of his recordings on the diary with a thank-you note saying, 'I don't plan to be more successful, but now I have reasons to fill out these pages' and it was heartwarming," said Jo.

"I also gave one to my daughter who's in high school and I wasn't sure how she'd react. Gladly, she was delighted and started immediately writing in it. We're underestimating young people thinking that they wouldn't like writing the analog way, but they adapt quickly like they adapt to electronic devices. They write personal stuff on diaries as opposed to academic or professional recordings on computers. It's also good practice for young people to write, because these days, kids don't write well."

Jo's dream is to market the diary abroad. "I hope everyone in the world have this diary. I hope it becomes an item that people would want to own. I hope it becomes a global luxury item that has a store standing right next to Montblanc."

The diary isn't cheap. The 10-year edition in leather cover and gold flanks is 210,000 won and the five-year edition with silver flanks is 60,000 won. The leather is imported from Italy.

"Instead of giving children a bankbook, I'd suggest parents give them a diary like this. The elderly could leave it as a legacy to their children with their messages on it," she said.