Naoto Fukasawa
Fukasawa was born in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan, and graduated from Tama Art University in 1980. His career began at Seiko Epson, where he designed micro-technology products. After moving to the United States, he joined San Francisco design firm ID Two, predecessor to IDEO. He returned to Japan in 1996 to lead IDEO’s Tokyo office and established Naoto Fukasawa Design in 2003. Fukasawa’s designs span a variety of disciplines, including precision electronic equipment, furniture, interior spaces, and architecture.
Products by Naoto Fukasawa
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“Design means observing objectively.”
Deeply ingrained in his work are design philosophies that rely on people's natural state. “Without Thought” asserts that the impetus of design lies in the subconscious. He says that people think design appeals to their emotions. In actuality, people are linked to everyday things in their environments without any awareness. “Designs that make us feel this kind of simplicity don’t stand out, but entwine with people’s actions and with the environment, too.” Fukasawa introduced a workshop series for designers in 1999 under the same name, and it continues today.
His shared philosophy with friend and British designer Jasper Morrison is known as “Super Normal.” When Fukasawa’s Déjá-vu Chair debuted in 2005 at Salone del Mobile in Milan, he wondered whether the design was too normal. However, Morrison praised it for its “super normal” quality. The pair went on to codify the idea of Super Normal design—objects that are instantly familiar (normal), and yet better than what’s come before (super).
