Naoto Fukasawa
Born in Yamanashi in 1956, Fukasawa graduated from Tama Art University’s Product Design Department. As an in-house designer, he engaged in the design of microelectronic devices including watches. In 1989, Fukasawa moved to the United States and joined IDEO and it was a very rare case for Japanese product designer of that time. It was the time when Silicon valley was experiencing a rapid growth with the computer technologies that Fukasawa was mainly involved in the design of computers and electronics for companies in Silicon Valley, medical equipment, furniture and sporting goods. In 1996 he returned to Japan, where he set up and headed IDEO’s Tokyo office. In 2003 he established Naoto Fukasawa Design. Fukasawa’s approach for product design is very original and his “Without Thought”, and “Design dissolving in behavior” are internationally supported. Fukasawa regards achieving simpleness in design as a way to achieve completeness and harmonious relationship between users, objects and environments as a purpose for design.