naoto fukasawa: BOX without thought

shoe box by aya masuda (ricoh company ltd.) photography by hidetoyo sasaki, courtesy diamond design management

during tokyo design week 09 designboom visited the DMN design workshop exhibition (vol.10). together with in-house designers of several companies, the japanese designer naoto fukasawa is currently organising a series of workshops and exhibitions bearing the name ‘without thought’. the ‘BOX’ exhibition is the 10th of its kind.

‘the theme for this workshop was ‘box’.there are many different actions, feelings and thoughts people attach to boxes seen on a regular basis. if there are boxes whose shape indicates what is inside, then there are also those that are used over and over again, irrespective of their contents. something to put things in; something to carry things in; something that shares long stretches of time with what’s inside it. things that are thrown away soon after their contents are removed. boxes are involved in various aspects of our daily lives. shared memories and realizations attached to boxes are the highlight of this exhibition.’ – naoto fukasawa

project produced by takashi kawashima, diamond inc., directed by naoto fukasawa, coordination by masahiko sakata, diamond inc. catalogue available here

folding sushi geta plate by masayoshi kato (fujitsu design limited) photography by hidetoyo sasaki, courtesy diamond design management

folding sushi geta plate by masayoshi kato (fujitsu design limited) photography by hidetoyo sasaki, courtesy diamond design management

folding sushi geta plate by masayoshi kato (fujitsu design limited) photography by hidetoyo sasaki, courtesy diamond design management

woven cardboard box by nozomu okada (naoto fukasawa design) photography by hidetoyo sasaki, courtesy diamond design management

gift wrapping by keiji takeuchi (naoto fukasawa design) cooperation with takashima company, limited photography by hidetoyo sasaki, courtesy diamond design management

color-tinged tissues by katsura yamamoto (NEC design & promotion, ltd.) photography by hidetoyo sasaki, courtesy diamond design management

general view of the exhibition entrance image © designboom

10 years on

‘that such a workshop exists!’ 10 years ago, it was those of us on the production end that were surprised. five years on, having built achievement upon achievement, the content of the workshop transmitted itself to the people whose job it was to think of management and merchandise strategy for their companies, and they were surprised. and now, having come to be known by people undertaking workshops in various fields unrelated to design, everyone is surprised and shows a great deal of interest in our undertaking.

without thought is a workshop directed by naoto fukasawa and participated in by in-house designers from DMN’s member companies. the process, in terms of time, begins with a winter camp before christmas; after seeing in the new year, meetings are held and the trial and error of ideas gets under way; finally, an exhibition showcasing the results is held; this time in the fall. something of a marathon, right? while following company routines and being up to their ears in important projects, designers participating in the workshop nevertheless put their heart and soul into it!

even more intense than the timeframe is the content. painstakingly prepared exercises and revues that hit right at the heart of things, with case studies too. a worth you really wouldn’t understand unless you had participated in the workshops yourself. being able to transcend the boundaries of being a company worker while still acting in that capacity. camaraderie builds between in-house designers who are usually competitors, and it would be fair to say that a bond continuing for years to come is fostered. they ask themselves, ‘what on earth was i designing until now?’ the fruits of the workshop are not remembered tactually, nor are they understood cerebrally – the body assimilates them as is. and tomorrow’s designs excite them – it’s like being re-born.

the theme for this exhibition is ‘box(es)’. standing in front of the works being exhibited, the ones more surprised than anyone else about the consolidation of the results of the workshop are probably the designers themselves. ‘that such a workshop exists!’

diamond design management network takashi kawashima DMN director