CHINDOGU
Instructor: Takao Umehara
This poster series is a visual interpretation of Kenji Kawakami’s Chindogu Manifesto, focusing on the paradoxical philosophy of “useless but somehow useful.” Each of the three posters transforms the 10 Tenets of Chindogu into interactive, foldable designs that appear useless at first—but reveal their meaning and function through engagement and play.
This poster series is a visual interpretation of Kenji Kawakami’s Chindogu Manifesto, focusing on the paradoxical philosophy of “useless but somehow useful.” Each of the three posters transforms the 10 Tenets of Chindogu into interactive, foldable designs that appear useless at first—but reveal their meaning and function through engagement and play.
Fortune Teller Poster:
The poster’s lower part can be torn off and folded into a fortune teller, a playful origami commonly known in East Asia. As users manipulate it, each flap reveals one of the 10 Tenets, turning a child's game into a philosophical experience.
The poster’s lower part can be torn off and folded into a fortune teller, a playful origami commonly known in East Asia. As users manipulate it, each flap reveals one of the 10 Tenets, turning a child's game into a philosophical experience.
Paper Plane Poster:A flat, chaotic-looking poster with scattered letters. However, as it is folded along guiding lines, it gradually reveals the 10 Tenets of Chindogu, culminating in a paper airplane—making the useless, useful.