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The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) is currently showcasing a comprehensive retrospective dedicated to one of Japan's most influential designers, Naoto Fukasawa. Marking his first major showcase in the United States, the exhibition coincides with his receipt of the 2024 Collab Design Excellence Award. The design award honours his multifaceted contributions to contemporary design, collaborations with international brands such as Herman Miller, B&B Italia and Alessi, and his distinct design philosophy rooted in the relationship between objects and human behaviour.
Renowned for a perceptive design methodology expressed in a minimalist idiom, Fukasawa has cultivated a formidable legacy through product designs that are meticulously engineered, practical and intricately tied to human experience. The design exhibition titled Things in Themselves, is on view from December 13, 2024 – April 20, 2025, and provides insights into the Japanese designer, author and educator's core ethos as well as creative process through his multifarious contributions ranging from electronics for Samsung to collaborations with artisanal labels for exclusive furniture designs. Divided into four sections—without thought, emergence, outline and super normal—the showcase presents works from the PMA's collection and loans from manufacturers alongside working sketches and models from Fukasawa's studio.
Fukasawa is best known for a design process that prioritises sensitive observation of subconscious human behaviours—leaning against a railing, holding a coffee cup or placing an umbrella into its stand. This insight is what guides his designs, minimal bordering on simplistic, dryly humorous, long-lasting and vitally, easy to use. By presenting the subtleties of his practice, the showcase hopes to position it against contemporary design's pursuit of novelty or blatant commercialism. "Naoto Fukasawa is highly respected for the subtlety and beauty of his work. I am particularly excited for the opportunity this exhibition represents to explore his thoughtful, user-focused approach to design and his long-running emphasis on the ethical as well as the creative and economic responsibilities of industrial designers," notes Colin Fanning, the PMA's assistant curator and part of the team behind the showcase, in the official release.
One of the show's key themes is Fukasawa's conception of the 'super normal'. Conceived in collaboration with British designer Jasper Morrison, these anonymous designs that perfectly fulfil their functions without demanding attention, are reflected in the showcase through designs that Fukasawa worked on for MUJI, as its design director. The concept traces its roots to the duo's influential 2006 exhibition at Axis Gallery in Tokyo, which celebrated the quiet virtues of objects such as the iconic Bic pen, the celebrated Bialetti espresso maker and furniture in simple shapes and subdued colours. "I think most people believe that design should be something special. However, there is also a weariness in the heart from the overwhelming stimuli and excessive influence that comes with it," Fukasawa notes, of the intention behind the idea of pursuing 'super normal' in design. "In today's chaotic world, I feel that there is a desire for something quiet, humble, and normal to balance these conflicting emotions. In fact, amidst all the loud, overbearing statements, normality may itself be the special thing. This is what we call "super normal.”"
Similarly, the section titled 'outline' elucidates Fukasawa's notion that design shapes a 'hole' in the environment that objects intuitively fill. As Fukasawa emphatically demonstrates in his work, industrial designers ought to consider the 'atmosphere' for any project—a convergence of physical surroundings, sensory stimuli and user experiences. This layered understanding is evident in objects such as the wall-mounted CD player developed for MUJI.
Apart from the insistence that 'good design' should effortlessly fit into everyday life, Fukasawa—currently director of the Mingeikan (Japan Folk Crafts Museum)—is known to subtly balance Japanese artisanal traditions with rigorous industrial production. This 'emergence', practised through careful collaboration with brands and artisans, is broadly illustrated in his projects for global brands—from MillerKnoll in the United States to B&B Italia in Europe. Some of the notable collaborations on display in Things in Themselves include the solid acrylic composite ShelfX bookshelf with diagonal bracing, the Grande Papilio armchair and ottoman in polyurethane foam conceived for B&B Italia, the 'Cha' teapot for Alessi, lamp designs for Artemide and the Hiroshima lounge chair conceived for Maruni.
"I believe that the human capacity for physical appreciation and the spiritual influence that time provides are fundamentally consistent, regardless of cultural or geographic differences. As humans, these aspects remain largely unchanged. Therefore, when the environment changes, the body's response also changes, and this difference can be significant. Design is built around the harmony between the body and its environment. This might be what we call the universal," Fukasawa shares on the relevance of his work and the engaging display at the art museum. Things in Themselves not only honours Fukasawa's past achievements but also poses vital questions for the future of design. By prioritising accessibility, sustainability, and timeless aesthetics, his work serves as a blueprint to more carefully consider the amalgamation of craft traditions, industrial production and human behaviour into thoughtful design pieces. Wearing down distinctions between the mundane, the designed and rigid categories of functional art, Fukasawa's works not only perform their intended functions but make the user's daily rituals a little richer. They exemplify his belief that good design should indelibly integrate into life rather than stand apart.
'Naoto Fukasawa: Things in Themselves' is on view from December 13, 2024 – April 20, 2025, at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
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