The Form of Knowledge

This title caught my attention as I was perusing my local Tsutaya Bookstore / 蔦屋書店 / late one night.

“The Form of Knowledge” by Tokyo-based architect Ryuji Fujimura outlines the author’s views on architecture and design.

He thinks of architecture as the materialization of knowledge. Its form. Design is prototyping of architectural thinking.

This has a special interest for me because of the similarity of language between designing buildings and designing digital experiences.

Nearly everyday in my digital strategy team our UX designer is talking about making working prototypes from concepts, listing the specifications, and then building.

“Building” seems to have replaced the word “producing” - at least in discussions of digital experiences.

Back to the main subject. Fujimura’s book is published by TOTO Publishing, an arm of the Japanese company that makes the toilet-benchmark-setting TOTO WASHLET.

TOTO Publishing produces books that provide specialist perspectives on architecture, design, and life and culture. TOTO Publishing even has its own bookstore in Minami Aoyama / 南青山 /.

TOTO Publishing sets a good example for brands that engage in content marketing. In my opinion, books written by influencers can be a better investment than Facebook posts.