PURPOSEFUL EXISTENCE
Begin with a reason.
An object needs a reason to exist. It may help with a task, hold a memory, or play a part in a ritual. It should mean something.
RASHOMONE / AN INTRODUCTION TO THE IDEOLOGYLatent
Latent
Functionalism.
Useful as an object.
Beautiful as a sculpture.
Latent Functionalism means designing useful things that still look like works of art when nobody is using them.
Begin with the idea ↓A table can also
be a sculpture.
Think of Isamu Noguchi’s coffee table: a glass top held by two curved wooden pieces. Put a cup on it and it works as a table. Clear everything away and the curved base is still something you can enjoy looking at.
This existing design helps explain the idea. We are using it as a reference, not claiming that Noguchi designed under the name Latent Functionalism.
For Rashomone, the aim is simple: make something that works well and remains beautiful on its own. Both qualities should be considered from the first drawing.
“Latent” means something is there even when it is not active. The use is still there when the object is sitting untouched.
SEVEN PRINCIPLESSeven simple rules
Seven simple rules
for what we make.
DUAL-STATE PRESENCE
Design for use and for rest.
Think about a thing while someone uses it and while it sits alone. It should work well in the first moment and look beautiful in both.
LATENT FUNCTIONALITY
Keep the workings simple.
Handles, hinges, and moving parts should fit naturally into the design. They can be hidden or visible, as long as they do their job without distracting from the whole.
MATERIAL INTEGRITY
Let a material be itself.
Use materials honestly. Wood, stone, metal, glass, ceramic, resin, and plastics can all have a place. Choose them for what they can do and how they will age, without pretending they are something else.
ORNAMENT WITH INTENTION
Give detail a reason to exist.
A pattern or detail can tell a story or carry a memory. Add it because it means something, rather than because a surface looks empty.
ENDURING PRESENCE
Make something worth keeping.
Make things people want to keep. Their beauty and meaning should last beyond the moments when they are useful.
BEYOND TREND
Think beyond the season.
Choose shapes, materials, and details for a long life. The object should still feel worth having after the fashion around it changes.
There is no single look.
There is a shared aim.
An object can be simple or decorative, traditional or experimental. Latent Functionalism is about how it works, what it means, and why someone would keep it.
As we develop our own work, we will use these principles to guide decisions about shape, material, and making. We want the result to be easy to use, beautiful to live with, and made to last.
Made to use.
Made to keep.
That is the idea behind Latent Functionalism.
← Return to RashomoneAdapted from Rashomone’s Latent Functionalism manifesto.