Takt Project

When the founding members of a design collective all hail from the powerhouse firm Nendo, you can expect their work to be both disciplined and prolific. Such is the case with Takt Project, a multidisciplinary studio based in Tokyo founded by Atsushi Honda, Yoshitaka Ito, Satoshi Yoshiizumi, and Takeshi Miyazaki. The group works on a wide range of projects, from socially driven endeavors like improving wheelchair design to wristwatches for Sony’s under-the-radar wearable tech start-up. Reinvention is a recurring theme in the studio, as seen in the 3-Pring Product line—3-D printed components that people can use to transform readily available, inexpensive products from retailers like Muji. Riffing on the idea of sampling in music, Takt created a bracket that can be used to join run-of-the-mill acrylic storage bins to build a console, and a unit that allows someone to string an ordinary light socket through an acrylic storage box to create a pendant light. "The words of greats from the past taught me that design is not about the beauty of shapes or styling," says Yoshiizumi, "but rather adding a creative and novel interpretation to existing ways of thinking."