#150 Just enough design (and no more)

"Hodo-hodo" and what we can learn from chopsticks

Jun 10, 2024

Hello! In this week’s Design Lobster we’re exercising just the right amount of restraint 🤏

We’ll be exploring the work and ideas of Japanese designer Taku Satoh—from chopsticks to children’s toys and imitation sushi for Issey Miyake. His projects express the subtle Japanese concept of Hodo-hodo (ほどほど) which is one of those ideas that feels so simple and powerful once you learn about it. Enjoy!

Question: What is Hodo-hodo (ほどほど)?

Design that holds back—the humble but versatile chopstick.

On an impulse in the Getty bookshop this April I picked up a book of essays called Just Enough Design by a designer called Taku Satoh who I confess I had never heard of. He is first and foremost a graphic designer but has done a wide range of subtle and quietly sophisticated projects for Japanese and international brands that question conventional wisdom and push boundaries, whilst simultaneously exercising a principled restraint. An intriguing combination that quickly caught my attention.

The title essay of the collection explores the Japanese concept of hodo-hodo which originates from the eleventh century novel The Tale of Genji. Hodo-hodo can mean a number of of things depending on the context, but the essence of it is a sense of moderation and balance. Unlike terms that imply strict limits or precision, hodo-hodo describes a flexible, intuitive balance—a way of doing things that is neither excessive nor insufficient. Taku Satoh applies it to design in these words:

Applied to design, hodo-hodo no dezain could imply "just enough design." Which probably sounds like not very good design, but rephrasing it as "designing the hell out of a level that's just enough" or "perfecting the design of just enough" undoubtedly transforms your impression. In other words, the shade of meaning I want to convey with hodo-hodo is deliberately holding back, fully aware of the ideal of completion.

—Taku Satoh, Just Enough Design

In his essay, Satoh singles out of chopsticks (hashi) and furoshiki as embodiments of this philosophy. Each of which take a simple idea (a pair of wooden sticks or a square cloth) and elevate it to the high —though not excessive—level of refinement.

Since reading it, I’ve been thinking a lot about that phrase “designing the hell out of a level that’s just enough”. It captures a subtle and almost paradoxical shade of the work of a designer that I have always found hard to communicate to others. The way we will work really really hard to refine a detail that most others might never actually consciously notice. What I’ve learned though is that these details are felt even if they stay under conscious awareness, and create the seeds for an emotional connection to grow.

Design takeaway: How could you perfect “just enough” in your design?

🐰 In Design Lobster #44 we explored the Japanese design philosophy of kawaii 可愛い

Object: Kinoishi wooden stones

In one of several Taku Satoh rabbit-holes that reading his book inspired, I discovered these entrancing 3D-machined wooden pebbles that he created in 2010 as a toy for children. Satoh had done a number of projects for KIJIYA, a furniture workshop in Takayama and during one visit encountered a computer-controlled machine that could carve objects made from a 3D scan. Satoh was inspired by this machine to defer entirely to nature in the design process, and simply program it to scan and carve some stone pebbles that he and his team gathered from outside. The end result, after some additional buffing and oiling is a set of simple but beautiful objects that compel you to touch them.

The pebbles are designed as toys but come with no instructions, adding another layer of hodo-hodo to their design. Rather than being encumbered with rules, a child can choose how to play with them as they see fit—whether stacking them in a tower or using them to make shapes. The restraint of their design creates space for imagination.

Design takeaway: Where could you hold back in your design to create space for someone to make it their own?

😍 Satoh has also done some sumptuous work for Issey Miyake—a visual feast

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Quote: “We certainly don’t want refrigerators to be any less than they should be, but we also don’t want them to be any more than that.”
– Taku Satoh

In another memorable essay, Satoh rails over-designed rice-cookers and fridges that dominate the kitchen they stand in. Rather than screaming for attention, most of the design we need in life only needs to speak softly and with a little tact.

Take it easy this week,

Ben 🦞

Elsewhere…

Authentic shittiness - my new favourite Spanish word—cutre. Feels connected somehow to my essay on ugly design last month?
I love this maximalist website by Zach Hamed.
Is Design Substack having a moment? Featuring other great design newsletters like For Scale, Ground Condition and Schmatta.
Imogen Kwok’s edible mobiles 😍