Nendo is Oki Sato's design studio. Thanks to his furniture designs, light creations and everyday items, he is one of the most famous and popular designers of our time. He works together with international companies and was awarded many major prizes.
He has created design lights for Flos, Louis Poulsen and Oluce. His works are characterized by clear shapes and functional, yet emotional designs.
Nendo chief designer Oki Sato was born in Toronton (Canada) in 1977. As a child he moved to Japan with his family and later studied at the Waseda University in Tokyo. He then founded Nendo, an office for product design, architecture, interior architecture and graphic design in Tokyo. He opened a second office in Milan and later another one in Indonesia in 2005. From 2012 to 2014, Oki Sato worked as a private professor in the university from which he had graduated.
The Japanese word Nendo means clay, a modelling material which can take nearly every thinkable shape and is as versatile and flexible as Nendo's design which creates the most diverse products for every area of life.
Oki Sato also creates art installations. His objects are never reduced to their function, but always have a second meaning, made visible by playful details and associated shapes. The clients of the Nendo Studio are Issey Miyake, Lexus, Hermes, Cappellini, Louis Vuitton and many others.
In the realm of lighting design, Nendo testifies to its versatility: the Kurage table lamp for Foscarini is a smooth work-of-art of paper and wood, shaped like a stylized jellyfish which inspired its name.
The Nendo w132, designed for Wästberg and simply named after the design studio features a clear shape and a Scandinavian-inspired aesthetics. The Wästberg Nendo lights are made of lacquered metal and have cupola-like or conical shades.
Oki Sato was awarded many prizes for his work with Nendo. He was elected designer of the year 2015 by Maison & Objet, won the German Design Award, the red dot design award and one Compasso d'Oro. The Architekture & Wohnen magazine chose him as AW designer of the year 2019.
Photo: Oki Sato, Ph Courtesy Oluce