ONFAdd creates products inspired by traditional japanese mobility designs

ONFAdd presents a ‘new’ lifestyle of mobility inspired by japanese tradition. the lifestyle brand looks at the country’s culture of mobility and reinterprets the possibility of Japanese original products, transforming them using modern technology with the context of minimalism in mind.

onfadd uses traditional forms of painting known as ukiyo-e to illustrate products

standing for ‘of no fixed address’, ONFAdd remembers historical figureheads of the cultural past time such as nomadic poet, matsuo basho. known for his ‘haiki’ – short forms of naturalistic japanese poetry – basho spent most of life travelling to find inspiration for his writing. aiming to re-place value in this way of life the brand’s designs – which include a charging sleeping bag charger, a chair-carrying back-pack and an ultra-thin laptop carrier – take inspirations from historical products. the old japanese ‘furoshiki’ for example, a way of transporting items using a wrapping cloth technology, is updated using highly durable fabric; and a sixteenth century futon is reimagined with the blurring boundaries between work and home in mind.

tie, wrap, lay out, cover – onfadd updated the old Japanese furoshiki (wrapping cloth) for use in contemporary living

ONFAdd references major topics of modern times including the evolution in technology, terrorist attacks and the division of communities, as reasons for doing so. it also places importance in the instability that japanese culture has experienced in natural disasters such as the tōhoku earthquake and tsunami of 2011.

‘while the evolution of information technology has enriched our lives, it has also become the method to ruin the existing boundary we have secured for a long time; with the occurrence of a 3.11 earthquake in japan, we have come to realise there is no such thing as stable’ comments ONFADD. ‘in such era of uncertainty we live in today, we believe that the reconstruction of mobility culture would establish freedom in terms of ideas and activities throughout the world.’

inspired by Furoshiki, this backpack is capable of wrapping things of many shapes

with the brand’s concept placing japan at the forefront, ONFAdd have been careful to make sure that production does too. the team work with many factories in japan, collaborating with japanese manufacturers and allowing them to create in multiple fields regardless of genre. 

this backpack allows you to carry large items, such as a chair

the mobility brand takes pride in the fact that it is not like most designer brands which are led by one figurehead taking the helm. instead ONFAdd is much like an artistic collective consisting of many different types of creatives including contemporary artist, product designer, architect, fashion designer, CG animator, web designer, graphic designer, editor, etc.

ukiyo-e for portable sleeping pack

a portable sleeping pack is perfect for the urban nomad with an added solar panel for charging devices

this futon allows users to create their own sleeping space

this modern day futon recognises the blurring boundaries between work and home

ukiyo-e for inner jacket laptop backpack

this backpack is inspired by a minimalist japanese aesthetic and lets you carry only what you need.

creating a discreet storage space close to the body, it keeps your hands free.

make your style more minimal, and move more easily.

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: kieron marchese | designboom