“The definition of design has been updated – this is a new era of design,” exclaims Eisuke Tachikawa, lead designer at Nosigner and curator of “Design As It Is.” The new exhibition, which just opened at Singplural 2014, proposes a new type of design: one that shuns the overly designed visible forms and transitions to minimally designed invisible relationships. Stated differently, the physical form stays the same. The only thing that changes, or is designed, is the relationship.

Here are a few examples:

The moon as a lamp. Designed by Nosigner.

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Onions as trivets. Designed by Yusuke Komatsu.

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A light bulb as a light bulb. Designed by Hironao Tsuboi.

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An apple as a toy (kendama). Designed by Yasuhiro Suzuki.

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A beam of wood as light. Designed by Nosigner.

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A flipbook as rainbow. Designed by Masashi Kawamura.

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source: press release