Shunichi Suganuma: The Design of Gaze

How do our perception and cognition work when we sense time and motion from a still image?

Shunichi Sugawara, a cognitive designer known for his books such as "The Practice of Observation," authored "The Principle of Directionality" and "The Design of Gaze." These two books focus on the perceptual phenomenon of human "completion," where we actively sense motion even from static information like flipbooks. They are collections of examples that explore the conditions for "generating directionality"—the phenomenon where viewers imagine motion from a single static piece of information—and the possibilities for expression that arise from it.

"The Design of Gaze" is a work that builds on the concept of "gaze" discussed in the previous book, "The Principle of Directionality." It focuses on "joint attention," or the "ability to infer the direction of another person's gaze," and explores new expressive possibilities arising from various arrangements of gazes and objects.

What signs do people receive from design, and what signs can design send to people? Through simple, universally relatable case studies, this book re-discovers our latent perceptions and unearths new seeds of expression in design and art.

It is published by UMISHIBAURA, the personal label of Chika Goto, an editor who uniquely captures areas such as art, design, and film.