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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.
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Collections
Products
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
Colosseo
Naoto Fukasawa's 2018 glossy lacquered small tables shaped as an upside-down truncated cone
Tetrami
Free-standing ash containers with feet that extend the central partitions.
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.
Ayana Chair Outdoor
A 2020 Naoto Fukasawa outdoor chair with a round-section teak frame
Ayana Small Table Outdoor
Outdoor small table with a teak frame and serpentine top by Naoto Fukasawa, 2020
Papilio Shell
Chair with a polypropylene or padded shell and a butterfly-wing back, on steel or wooden legs
