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A clue to architect and designer Oki Sato’s playful persona lies in the fact that he named his studio Nendo, after the Japanese word for children’s modelling clay. In fact, the Tokyo-based creative says, ““Good design is when I can explain my ideas to my grandmother or to a young child.” Without preconceived notions of what is “good” design, Oki is free to follow his often-whimsical, meandering path to conceive objects that amaze, delight and still stay true to their function. Originally from Toronto, and he took his M.A. in Architecture at Waseda University in Tokyo and established Nendo there in 2002. The studio now includes a management staff and around 30 design-architecture professionals, not all of the Japanese.

That makes sense, as Oki regards the market as a global arena. “We are not too concerned with whether our clients are Japanese or Western,” he says. “After many years, we have developed ‘the Nendo way’ that doesn’t refer to any specific visual style or signature look, but rather the way we approach challenges and find solutions.” It is said that the mind behind Nendo is the first person since Philippe Starck’s heyday in the 1980s and 1990s whose design has such a characteristic signature. For the studio’s work, Nendo has been awarded with Dezeen, Wallpaper and Red Dot design awards among many more throughout its brief lifetime.