The one thing we can always count on in Japanese design is that aesthetics are important not only in the design industry, but also in the lifestyle of the citizens.  From the culinary arts, to religion, to fashion, the visual aspect of life is an important part of Japanese culture.  How a food is presented is just as important as how it tastes, if not more.  It is then important to note how much aesthetics are important in the automotive industry of Japan.

Leon, an automotive design student at RMIT in Melbourne, Australia, has broken down the basic principles of Japanese aesthetics, and how they can help us better understand and work to Japanese design.  Read the excerpt and follow the link for the full article.

Below are (one of the) four main aesthetic ideals/principles and their relevance to the nature of design and form:

WABI-SABI:

The aesthetic defined as the beauty of things “imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete”.  This is the main principle that defines the way in which Japanese people view and design their material world. This ideal can be applied to all living and innanimate things in that it speaks of the transience of things- nothing is permanent and this is reflected in a Japanese person’s preference for something that is in bud or in decay as opposed to something that is in full bloom.

The full article can be found at Vehicle for Change