Fukasawa : There are many people in Hitachi who think the same way. They also know that there are many obstacles on the way. That is why they are unable to act unless an outsider speaks bluntly. I feel that the job given to me includes that aspect. That is why I make a point of speaking openly and frankly and dare to insist it should be this way or that way. I state my opinions clearly because that is what they want from me.

Fukasawa : In other countries, I am told that some people move the air purifier from room to room. So, one requirement was to have wheels. At the same time, the product should not move about easily. It is designed to stay in one place but at the same time be movable.

Fukasawa : The fact that the product is from a reliable Japanese manufacturer will reassure consumers that the design and performance are excellent.

If you make a quality product, people intuitively begin to accept that "quality products are good". I made sure that this remains unchanged. We made sure that consumers will buy the product because they are convinced of its quality, even if they don't notice it. I have paid close attention to this aspect.

I wanted to communicate that the product is a high-performance model, not by giving it a decorative appearance, but by creating a solid machine that delivers. I made sure that the design communicates a sense of size by the fine louvers immediately, without any explanation.

Fukasawa : You can design simply and elaborately if you work hard, it's a good rule of thumb.

However, I go beyond the limits of this rule, review it once it is completed and look at whether the design is attractive. I have started to call it 'a touch of desire/charm'.

At the very end, a final touch is necessary. I look at whether the product we worked so hard to create is truly desirable. A product cannot win the love of the user unless it has a charm that instils desire.

That is something difficult to discern. I myself find it difficult to identify, but I believe it involves a design that doesn't look too cool and that has a friendly look. Since each appliance has a 'brain' today, it is absolutely necessary to appear friendly. The age of merely embracing a cool appearance is over.

Fukasawa : The air purifier is designed to be used in a room. We look at where it will be located in the room. When someone is in the room or when another chair is brought into the room, the user may want to move it. If the room is not being used, the user may want to place it in a corner. I think that we need to understand the dynamics of the interrelationship between the product and people, and where they are positioned in the environment.

If a person is on the other end of the relationship, ignoring the dynamics will not have a good result. In the case of a product, it will not look useful or fit well into the environment.

Such dynamics are at work in the relationship between people and the flow of objects. We call this structure and composition. It is not just the beauty of the product as it stands on its own but what it embodies and whether it is in the optimal location. Not form but embodiment.

Fukasawa : It is important to identify whether the product embodies its purpose in the best way.

I believe it is the same when we evaluate a person. At a party, for example, someone who doesn't say anything doesn't necessarily lack presence. The opposite can be true. I feel that everyone can sense the kind of presence that other people have.

The same is true for appliances. I feel that the entire interior decor contributes in creating the right environment. Place and time determine the best embodiment for each appliance. I think that the decisive factor in design is whether the product is designed to be versatile enough to fit into the location it is placed in.

Fukasawa : That's right. Design is not just "creating" a product, but embodying the form in the product. We often hear that carvers of Buddhist statues can see right from the beginning how the statue is "embodied" in the piece of wood. I think that each product embodies is important. I believe there is a product that will be right for each location and the time. A mistake at this stage will draw criticism of the design.

Fukasawa : I think it's intuitive. I think that you can definitely feel it if you open up and embrace whatever comes your way.