nendo founder oki sato's picture book on design features a cup as its main character

oki sato, founder of design studio nendo, reveals a picture book that celebrates the essence of design with an ‘ordinary’ cup as its main character. the book tells the story of how the cup notices a spoon is missing to stir the coffee, and tries to solve the problem by transforming itself into different forms. oki sato also created more than twenty physical objects from the book to celebrate the launch of the book in tokyo, which illustrate the cup’s various shapes. 

with’not just a cup’, oki sato showcases how design is not only about creating beautiful shapes, but it is also about recognizing the small inconveniences in our everyday lives, and inventing ways to solve them. the overall message of the book is that ‘even the smallest and seemingly boring things in our daily routine can enrich our lives and excite us when given a bit more attention.’