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Designer
Naoto Fukasawa
Naoto Fukasawa was born in Kōfu, Yamanashi, in 1956 and studied product design at Tama Art University, graduating in 1980. He worked at Seiko Epson until 1988, then joined ID Two (a predecessor of IDEO) in San Francisco and opened its…
Biography
Background
Naoto Fukasawa was born in Kōfu, Yamanashi, in 1956 and studied product design at Tama Art University, graduating in 1980. He worked at Seiko Epson until 1988, then joined ID Two (a predecessor of IDEO) in San Francisco and opened its Tokyo office in 1996. He founded Naoto Fukasawa Design in 2003, the same year he launched the ±0 brand.
Signature Style
Always devoted to simplicity and beauty, Fukasawa designs from observed behaviour — "design dissolving in behaviour" and "Without Thought" — and, with Jasper Morrison, championed the "Super Normal" (2006).
Notable Works
- Papilio chair (2008) for B&B Italia
- MUJI wall-mounted CD player; ±0 humidifier
- Hiroshima chair (V&A collection); designs for Herman Miller, Alessi, Magis, Emeco and HAY
Legacy
An Honorary Royal Designer for Industry (2007), professor at Tama Art University, co-director of 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT and director of the Japan Folk Crafts Museum, with work at MoMA and the V&A and over fifty awards.
Collections
Products
Papilio Shell
Chair with a polypropylene or padded shell and a butterfly-wing back, on steel or wooden legs
Bull
Solid-wood dining table with inclined round-section legs and a slender top, designed in 2018
Shelf
Shelf by Naoto Fukasawa, 2006
Ayana Armchair Outdoor
An FSC-certified teak outdoor armchair by Naoto Fukasawa
Hiroshima Lounge Chair
HIROSHIMA Lounge Chair by Naoto Fukasawa for Maruni: arm-to-back lines, removable fabric cover
Harbor
Sculptural swivel armchair in a high and a low version by Naoto Fukasawa, 2017
Grande Papilio
A 2009 high-back swivel armchair shaped around an inverted truncated cone.
Piccola Papilio
A compact swivel armchair whose winged back evokes a butterfly in motion.
Papilio Chair
Upholstered chair whose back curves into butterfly-like wings, on a light steel frame
Ayana
An outdoor teak-frame sofa offered in two- and three-seat versions with separable materials.
Belle
Chair with rounded lines, elbow-shaped armrests and a leather seat, by Naoto Fukasawa, 2018
Bosco
Naoto Fukasawa's swivel armchair of soft, divided volumes on a pewter-coloured disc base.
