Naoto Fukasawa (深澤 直人; born 1956) is a Japanese designer, author, and educator,[1] working in the fields ofproduct andfurniture design. He is known for his product design work with the Japanese retail companyMuji, as well as collaborations with companies such asHerman Miller,Alessi,B&B Italia,Emeco,Magis, andHAY.[2]
Infobar mobile telephone (2007)Designs forB&B Italia by Fukasawa
Fukasawa has been described byBloomberg News as one of the world's most influential designers.[3]
Fukasawa was born inKōfu,Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan in 1956. He studied product design atTama Art University graduating in 1980.[4][5] After graduating, Fukasawa worked as a product developer atSeiko Epson until 1988, before joining the design firm ID Two, a predecessor to the design consulting firmIDEO inSan Francisco, California, for whom he later established a Tokyo office in 1996.[6][7] During this time he collaborated with the English industrial designerSam Hecht. In 2002, Fukasawa became aMUJI advisory board member, and worked on the development of many of their products.[8] After leaving IDEO, he established his own independent firmNaoto Fukasawa Design in 2003.[8] In the same year, Fukasawa founded the "±0" (Plus Minus Zero) brand of household electrical appliances and household products, focused on the design of goods that are felt to be "just right".[9] In recent years, he has several Italian furniture companies includingB&B Italia,Driade,Magis,Artemide, Danese, andBoffi, as well several in Germany and Northern Europe.
Many of his works are included in the permanent collection at theMuseum of Modern Art (MoMA) including,MUJI's Wall-mounted Compact Disc Player (1999), Neon Cellular Phone byKDDI Corporation (2005), and Infobar Cellular Phone by KDDI Corporation (2003).[13]
Naoto Fukasawa on the cover ofIcon Design, June 2018
Naoto Fukasawa's design approach is centered around the relationship between design and behavior, using terms such as "design dissolving in behavior", "center of consciousness", "normality", "outline" and "archetype" to describe his work.[6] His approach relies on observing how people act and react in their everyday, and finding solutions in these behaviors that link the design to the person. In his 2018 monograph, Fukasawa describes design as "attributing countenance to an object", in which the design is accompanied by the environment and the context.[14]
Fukasawa coined the term "Without Thought" as a philosophy for how design can be found in people's unconscious behavior.[6] Without Thought refers to how objects can feel important when seen for the first time, but only have their initial essence realized when being used. Ever since creating the term, Fukasawa has organized workshops to share his approach to other designers.
In 2006, Fukasawa curated the exhibitionSuper Normal together with English furniture designerJasper Morrison to define "Super Normal", presenting 200 objects that were considered ordinary or to have been anonymously designed.[15] Items presented in the exhibition ranged from notable objects such as the Bialetti espresso maker to anonymously designed and mass produced objects such as disposable plastic plates. The term defines objects as being absent of identity, originality, and elements that leave an impression, leading to objects that appear ordinary. This design concept can be seen reflected in Fukasawa's work with Muji, where products are created with an anti-branding approach of not presenting any traits that characterize the object.
Fukasawa has won over fifty awards, including the American IDEA Gold Award, the German iF Gold Award, the British D&AD Gold Award, the Mainichi Design Award and the 5th Oribe Award.
Naoto Fukasawa has consulted and designed for several companies, ranging from home appliance retailers to furniture manufacturers. Companies that he has designed for include:
![INFOBAR (Phone)[44]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aInfo.bar_prototype.jpg)
