Singapore Web DesignerWabi Sabi — Zen Principles of Aesthetics Chapter 3: KANSO » AEN—Designer & Consultant

I have to apologize for keeping this chapter for so long. I was busy with work for the past three months since chapter 2. I hope you will like this third chapter and support it like the first two.

This is the chapter of simplicity. This chapter will be plain and neat.

What is KANSO “簡素”? By definition it is simplicity and doing things in a basic and plain manner, without fancifulness and free of decorative gimmicks. There are 2 obvious schools of thoughts designers attend. One sees design as a means of decoration and the other sees it as craft. Decoration is for the purpose of amusement and craft is for serving a purpose. A fancy dish garnished with top quality ingredients amuses our taste buds while plain rice serves only to ease our hunger. Kanso is rice, not pasta. You will get tired of eating fancy food but not basic food like rice. Kanso is plain white paper and black ink on paper, rather than oil on canvas. You only use what you need to serve a purpose and nothing more.

Take a look at these business card designs. What do they have in common? Fancy gimmicks to amuse.

What about these?

Source

Simple and to-the-point. I personally would be more impressed by well-thought and well-laid out simple designs than fancy stuff full of “creativity”. But hey that does not apply to every scenario. A circus clown and street magician ought to have fancy business cards.

One cannot help but be reminded of MUJI when it comes to simplicity. MUJI is distinguished by its design minimalism, emphasis on recycling, avoidance of waste in production and packaging, and no-logo policy. Products range from pens, notebooks, and clothing for men and women to food items and major kitchen appliances (source). MUJI “無印良品” simply means quality products with no mark.

I am a big fan of MUJI products, designed simply for quality of life. I personally own a few of these paperback notebooks which I buy with less than four Singapore dollars at the few MUJI stores in town. They are made from recycled paper and look very simple and because they are relatively cheap and cheap-looking, I can doodle on them and not have the worry of wasting paper in my mind.

You would have seen this simple wall-hung CD player in MUJI stores. Naoto Fukasawa designed it for MUJI in 1999.

He also heads the ±0 brand of household electrical appliances and sundries, also based on the philosophy of simplicity.

Keeps things simple when they should be. Use only what you need. One saying goes “Perfection is not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away”. But there is no perfection. What is true then? There is no truth, only perception. Perception is clear when the mind is not clouded and burdened. Keep things simple as they should be and there will be less burden on the mind.

The article has simply ended. Were you expecting more? Be simple.