Episode 11

The Design Law stipulates "In this law, 'design' refers to the shape of an object, the shape of a building or a picture that evokes a feeling of beauty through the visual sense." (Article 2, paragraph 1 of the same law) .
What is this "sense of beauty"? First, there is the traditional decorative aesthetic. It is used to decorate practical objects to make them look beautiful. In contrast to this, there is functional beauty, which was born at the Bauhaus, a design school established in Weimar, Germany in 1919 after World War I. Functional beauty is the beauty that comes from an exterior that aims only at functionality and dispenses with decoration. This is the idea of ​​industrial design. Dieter Rams, a leading German industrial designer, advocated the idea of "less but better." This is the idea that a design that eliminates decoration provides a better product. Dieter Rams' thoughts are said to have influenced Jonathan Ive and created the design of the iPhone.
As a requirement for design registration, it stipulates that "Anyone who has created a design that can be used industrially can obtain a design registration for that design." (Article 3, paragraph 1 of the law). This indicates that a requirement for registering a design is that it can be mass-produced industrially. The statement "can be used for industrial purposes" indicates that products with functional beauty that exclude decoration and serve the function are eligible for design registration.
In the Japanese design examination standards, as "examples of things that create a sense of beauty by sight and things that are not recognized" it is listed as "things whose main purpose is function, effect, and effect and which convey little beauty" (Part III, Chapter 1, 2.4 (2)). In "Designs" (written by Tadashi Takada), it is stated that the interpretation and application of these examination standards require discussion (p. 86 of the same book).