Oki Sato is the founder of the Nendo design studio in Tokyo. He was inspired by Doraemon and Issey Miyake, the couturier who revolutionized 20th century textiles.
Nendo's portfolio includes a soccer ball that assembles like a puzzle, a beer can with two rings to serve the foam before the liquid and a lamp that opens like a flower with the heat of the light bulb. Sato: “Doraemon was my teacher, because I studied Architecture and no one taught me how to design products,” he says in reference to the unusual gadgets used by the robot cat from the 22nd century. The Japanese word nendo has two meanings: clay and plasticine, as it better transmits the playful spirit that governs all of his creations, Sato says. He says that he finds abundance in scarcity and elegance in simplicity in his work, and that he is always looking for new ways to achieve the same thing, even if it's a small thing.