“What if the very act of designing is the act of unconsciously simulating the evolution of nature,” asks Eisuke Tachikawa, the founder of Japanese design firm Nosigner. “What if all designs are imitations of nature?” With that hypothesis, Tachikawa presents the evolution of technology an one, astounding, real-life infographic that visually lays out over 100 objects that have been integrated into the iPhone.
The installation is part of “Reason Behind Forms,” a new exhibition that looks back at the design firm’s archive of “social design innovation” while also presenting a body of new work.
The exhibition presents a portion of Nosigner’s old work like the Moon Lamp and Tokyo’s Disaster Preparedness Guide. The overarching theme though is a visualization of why design has evolved to its current form. By understanding that – similar to biology – design has adapted to economic and natural climates, we can grasp hints of how it will continue to expand in the future.
“Reason Behind Forms” is on display at Ginza Graphic Gallery (ggg) in Tokyo through October 31, 2016.