Taku Inomata reimagines everyday objects with clever paper crafts

The Tokyo-based designer’s carefully orchestrated compositions of bendy bamboo rulers and matchstick box books (to name a few) humorously make us look at the familiar anew.

Date
26 June 2024

With his shape-shifting envelopes, balloon sewing spools and cut-out book covers, Taku Inomata has a funny and refreshing way of looking at the details of everyday things. He tells It’s Nice That: “I prioritise humour in my creations. I do not use any special techniques or materials, instead I create impactful visuals with simple techniques and readily available materials.” Playing with paper, and changing the shape of ignored office materials or sewing box essentials, his work aims to “engage the imagination”. One of the designer’s greatest creative influences is the posters and paintings of renowned graphic designer Masayoshi Nakajo, whose playful and experimental touch is something that Taku hopes to channel in his creations.

Currently working as a packaging designer for a food manufacturer in Tokyo, Taku creates his precise artworks as an ongoing side project to his professional practice. The designer studied textile design at Tama Art University in Tokyo and certainly carried this attention to detail through to the satisfying layouts of his creations. On the frequent appearance of plants and the natural world in his reimagining of everyday things, Taku explains: “I live in Bunkyo Ward, home to two of Japan’s most famous botanical gardens and a thriving gardening culture, surrounded by both large and small natural environments.” Just like the close on his beautiful flower envelopes, these magical everyday environments often creep into his paper crafts and graphic prints, featured in simple graphic forms; “I get inspiration from closely observing even the most familiar things,” he says.

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Taku Inomata: 竹尺 (bamboo ruler) (Copyright © Taku Inomata)

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Taku Inomata: いとま木 (spool card) (Copyright © Taku Inomata)

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Taku Inomata: 洋花”タ封筒 (envelope) (Copyright © Taku Inomata)

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Taku Inomata: 着火装置 (book match) (Copyright © Taku Inomata)

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Taku Inomata: 花ンパイ (cheers) (Copyright © Taku Inomata)

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Taku Inomata: 洋花”タ封筒 (envelope) (Copyright © Taku Inomata)

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Taku Inomata: ブックマー花ー (book marker) (Copyright © Taku Inomata)

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Taku Inomata: ブック花バー (book jacket cover) (Copyright © Taku Inomata)

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Taku Inomata: 花レンダー (calendar) (Copyright © Taku Inomata)

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Taku Inomata: ナ花”3封筒 (envelope) (Copyright © Taku Inomata)

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About the Author

Ellis Tree

Ellis Tree (she/her) joined It’s Nice That as a junior writer in April 2024 after graduating from Kingston School of Art with a degree in Graphic Design. Across her research, writing and visual work she has a particular interest in printmaking, self-publishing and expanded approaches to photography.

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