Project Nendo, utgiven av Thames & Hudson, presenterar Oki Sato, grundare till den kända designbyrån Nendo. Den talangfulle japanens designarbeten täcker in alla områden från produkt- och inredningsdesign till grafisk design och arkitektur – ”Det finns inget som jag inte kan tänka mig formge”, har Sato själv sagt. Boken innehåller originaldesigner, produktbilder och inspirerande texter som skildrar Satos kreativa process och som minst sagt ger stöd åt hans påstående.

Sato renders his designs with remarkable conceptual clarity. At the outset, he allows his imagination to run wild and then documents his idea with a simple black line drawing – be it a bathroom basin defined by a single, ceramic swirl or a pair of wooden chopsticks that twist together to become one. These 2D images are converted into minimal 3D shapes described with clean outlines and a largely monochrome palette. Like a traditional Japanese ink painting, which constructs an image with just a few brush strokes, Sato extracts the unnecessary and eliminates distraction.

Featuring Sato’s original sketches, full-scale product images and explanatory texts, Project Nendo uncovers and unpicks the designer’s unique creative process, guiding the reader step-by-step through his innovative and playful world to reveal the secrets behind fifty of his inimitable works.