Why Nendo is in the Design 100

Oki Sato founded Nendo in Tokyo in 2002, later opening a second base in Milan. The name itself means “clay” in Japanese, chosen for the malleable, exploratory process the studio has kept at its centre. In a little over two decades it has moved fluidly between disciplines: furniture and lighting for Cappellini, Kartell and Fritz Hansen, exhibition work such as the “My London” installation for Established & Sons, and branding and product design for clients including Shiseido.

That range rests on one idea: restraint. Nendo’s work favours a single quiet gesture, resolved with precision, over visual noise, an approach that reads as poetic rather than simply minimal. The recognition followed the output: in 2012, Wallpaper* named Sato its Designer of the Year, citing the breadth and consistency of a practice built on unusually small, considered decisions. That combination of scale and subtlety is what earns Nendo its place in the Design 100.