Nomaki Etsu Design

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2025-2026
  1. Introduction
  2. The Capacity of Form
  3. Designed Form as Furniture
  4. The Relational Field of Form
  5. The Reconciliation of Form and Function
  6. Complex Form in Harmonization
  7. Restraint and Richness
       Complex Form in Harmonization: Continued

  8. Discerning Proportion
  9. Reflection on Contemporary Design

2023-2025
  1. What is Design?
  2. Problematic Design of Contemporary Era
  3. The Timeless Good Design
  4. Reflection on the Role of Design in our Historic Moment

-2023
  1. Design Philosophy and Style
  2. Design through Theorization and Materialization
  3. Exploration of Thinking and Theorizing about Design
  4. Theoretical Explorations of Aesthetics

Theoretical Explorations of Aesthetics


To See from Different Visual Perspectives

The human perspective evokes different sensations. Looking up, looking straight, looking down, even when expressing the same meaning through a medium, can result in different experiences for the viewer, especially when the medium varies. Looking up provides people with a sense of their own insignificance, conveying an unshakable symbolism. Looking straight may seem equal, yet it can evoke a feeling of unwilling equivalence. On the other hand, looking down is the most familiar and taken-for-granted perspective for humans. Understanding different visual angles can be analyzed from a psychological perspective and applied to design. Incorporating a thoughtful consideration of visual angles into the design process can lead to specific contemplations of aesthetics.

The Perceived Perceptual Differences Based on Perceptual Ability.

Approaching aesthetics as a comprehensive whole, perceiving everything as a unit of consideration, with active contemplation of perceptual contrasts, and the ability to adjust the degree of contrast in the design, one can understand and design based on the subjective perception of things by humans. Creating designs or layouts with perceptual contrasts in what humans can perceive will provide a specific aesthetic consideration. Reflecting on the relationship between positives and negatives within things rather than solely focusing on design. Where there is light, there must be darkness, even in apparent brightness, there are varying degrees of light, and the darker light becomes the darkness within the brightness.

Being in Nature, Perceiving Nature, and Coordinating Nature

We are surrounded by nature, which inspires and stimulates our aesthetic perception and contemplation. Humans rely on the Earth’s environment for their long-term survival, making a shared connection with the environment inevitable. The appearance of nature, such as landscapes and climate, combined with human subjective perception of the world, creates a unique human appreciation of natural beauty. Every day, we are immersed in this perception, but we may overlook it due to familiarity with our surroundings. This perception of sensational beauty is comprehensive, encompassing visual beauty, auditory beauty, olfactory beauty, and tactile beauty, all of which are interconnected and inseparable.