In the distant past, the ratio of manufactured goods to people was extremely low, so the tendency was for such products to be highly decorated and embellished. Since then the ratio has altered considerably in favor of the material objects. Now, most of us are inundated with a multitude of gadgets, gizmos, furnishings and fittings — all of which we have to cram into our crowded lives and limited living space.
Under these conditions, elaborate decoration has become increasingly obsolete. The changing goods-to-people ratio is ultimately what explains the trend toward a minimalist aesthetic in much of modern design — the need to maintain a feeling of simplicity in the face of an overwhelming proliferation of the material aspects of our lives.
The especially dense nature of life in Japan means that Japanese designers have made particular strides in this direction. These include Naoto Fukusawa, a multi-award-winning designer whose work forms the basis of the exhibition "The Outline: the Unseen Outline of Things" at 21_21 Design Site in Roppongi.