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Not just a cup

by Oki Sato

This picture book — the first from prolific Japanese designer Oki Sato, aka nendo — features a simple cup as the main character. Cute, quirky illustrations tell the story of when the cup notices there is no spoon to stir the coffee within it, and so tries to solve the problem by changing itself into different forms.

The plot of the book essentially explains the essence of design, emphasising the notion that design is not only about creating beautiful shapes but about recognising the little inconveniences in our everyday lives and finding new ways to solve them, in so doing also explaining much of nendo’s design philosophy.

Sato’s overall message is that even the smallest and seemingly most boring thing in our daily routine can excite us and enrich our lives when