Last week I had the pleasure of going to the MCA in Chicago for a lecture given by designer Naoto Fukasawa. He talked about the idea that design is not just about creating new things but about taking the time to painstakingly clean the edges and corners over and over again to achieve precise angles, smoothness and proportions."Happy" and "friendly" were used a lot during the lecture to describe the shapes of the products he designs. Observation of unconscious human behavior and psychology were mentioned in reference to design and his process. I left the lecture inspired by his work and thoroughly entertained because his designs are so profoundly beautiful in their simplicity, his thought process is quite complex and his demeanor is so funny and playful. What an interesting combination.
Image courtesy of Japan Trends http://www.japantrends.com/japanese-humidifier-roundup-2007/