Taku Inomata reimagines everyday objects with clever paper crafts

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.