+-0 (often referred to as Plusminuszero) is Japan’s go-to brand for minimalist home appliances. Established in 2003 and made famous worldwide by the many products designed by founder and former art director Naoto Fukasawa, who started the brand in a quest for minimalist home appliances that felt ‘just right,' the brand offers every domestic function, from cleaning to heating, in minimalist form.
Although many of the original Fukasawa designs are no longer available on the current catalogue, the brand keeps on innovating with household goods that blur the boundaries between domestic and tech.
Discover our pick of +-0 home appliances below.
Minimalist home appliances from +-0
Hanging clothes dryer
Pop it open, hang it and you're done: this hanging clothes dryer is a home assistant as useful as they come. Compact and practical, it is imagined to dry light clothing inside and can hang in a bathroom or closet taking up minimal space while doing its work. The A4 sized appliance opens to reveal a case (that can be adjusted to 3 different sizes) where clothes can hang out of sight while it does its job.
Pop-up one-slice toaster
The one-slice toaster from 2007 is one of Fukasawa's original designs. 'Possibly the smallest pop-up toaster in the world', its design is sleek and it features a smooth white surface, the toaster conceived as an essential tool where the functional controls are intuitive and discreet.
Steamer
This clothes care essential comes in a palette that ranges from red and pink to yellow and blue with a freestanding design and an ergonomic handle. Heating up in less than 30 seconds, it is programmed to steam as well as neutralise odours and allergens from fabrics.
2-cup Coffee Maker
This compact coffee maker comes in black, beige and red, it is easy to use and comes equipped with a permanent filter (although it also supports traditional paper filters).
Aileron fan
Standing on a minimal round base, the fan's unobtrusive design conceals a clever approach with the use of ailerons attached to the blades to blow the air further, and a guard shaped to reduce noise. The fan is conceived to reduce electricity consumption and the head can be adjusted from 90 degrees upwards to 12 degrees downward.
Cordless cleaner
Ceramic fan heater
Also part of Fukasawa's original offering, the Ceramic Fan Heater (also available in a mini version) is a fitting example of Fukasawa's clever take on everyday objects. Compact and lightweight, the ceramic heater features smooth edges and a design that looks equally sleek and unassuming.
-
Sunspel’s collaboration with Charlie Casely-Hayford is inspired by tailoring’s renaissanceSunspel has teamed up with Charlie Casely-Hayford for a second time, creating a modular menswear wardrobe which riffs on the three-piece suit – here transformed for the everyday
-
Green House crowned RIBA House of the Year 2023
RIBA House of the Year 2023 has been awarded to Green House in London by Hayhurst & Co
-
Nifemi Marcus-Bello makes an impression at Design Miami 2023
Nifemi Marcus-Bello is out in force at Design Miami, with a wall sculpture and installation at the fair’s entrance, made possible by Hublot, and a solo booth with Marta Los Angeles
-
Shiro Kuramata’s multilayered cosmos on view in Tokyo
‘The Work of Shiro Kuramata: A Microcosmos of Memory’ is on view at Setagaya Art Museum until 28 January 2024
-
Japanese craft meets technology at Miyota Design Weekend
The inaugural Miyota Design Weekend took place in the small community around Mt. Asama in Nagano, showcasing established and emerging creatives from Japan
-
The Conran Shop opens new ‘locally edited’ Tokyo concept store
New Conran Shop Tokyo concept store opens in Daikanyama as the retailer's first ‘locally edited’ store, sourcing and curating a unique range of design objects crafted across Asia
-
Noma Kyoto pops up with a design inspired by Japanese culture
The Noma Kyoto pop-up is open until 20 May 2023, hosted in the spaces of Kengo Kuma's Ace Hotel, and with interiors designed by Copenhagen's OEO Studio
-
The art of Kumihimo on display at Japan House London
Everything you need to know about Kumihimo: on display at Japan House London is an immersive and informative exhibition, on show until 11 June 2023
-
Karimoku Commons Kyoto offers an intimate, home-like experience
Karimoku Furniture Inc opens its first Karimoku Commons location in Kyoto, in a former wooden machiya townhouse that offers an intimate experience of the brand
-
World View: Letter from Japan
The World View series shines light on the creativity and resilience of designers around the world as they confront the challenges wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic. Working with contributors around the world, we reach out to creative talents to ponder the power of design in difficult times and share messages of hope. In and around Tokyo, a city that has so far avoided the worst of the pandemic, design studios Rhizomatiks, Gen Suzuki, Akira Minagawa and Drill Design find that having to stay in comes with its own challenges, but unexpected upsides too, reports our Japan editor Jens H Jensen
-
Kazuyo Sejima: from light engineer to architectural heavy hitter
