Naoto Fukasawa, born 1956 in Yananashi, central Japan, graduated in 1980 in Product Design from Tama Art University, Tokyo. Subsequently, he worked for IDEO America, setting up the IDEO Tokyo Office in 1996 before going independent in 2003 and establishing his own company, Naoto Fukasawa Design. He organized the design workshop "Without Thought" for corporate in-house designers, developing actual products and publications, which won numerous awards in Japan and internationally. Notably, one CD player design went into production by Muji, and won both the 2002 German IF Gold Award and the UK D&AD Award. Over his career, his work has been recognized by over forty European and American design awards. Most recently, he was invited to participate in the New York Museum of Modern Art's "Workspheres" exhibition, for which he created the environment "Personal Skies."

In Japan, Fukasawa served as commissioner for "Design Dissolving in Behaviour" and the Japan Design Committee's 5Oth year commemorative "Optimum", overseeing all aspects of exhibition planning, design and publishing.

His new brand " +-0" is a joint-venture research and development project between the Takara Co. and Diamond Inc. focused on household appliances and other necessities for the home.

In October, the KDDI/au Design Project marketed his mobile phone "Infobar" and a next generation mobile phone system WIN-11, both of which met with major acclaim.

Fukasawa teaches Industrial Design at Tama Art University, and is director of Tokyo AAD Studios. He is a member of the Muji Advisory Board for Design Quality and the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's Strategic Design Research Society.