Hirotaka Tako is a Japanese designer and creative leader with over 30 years of experience spanning product design, brand development, and creative direction.

After beginning his career at TOTO, he joined Sony in 2003, where he spent over two decades shaping products, experiences, and design strategies across diverse businesses and markets. His career included nearly ten years in the UK, where he led Sony’s Design Centre Europe in London, working across cultures and disciplines to connect design vision with technological innovation and business strategy.

His approach is rooted in physical product design, with a broader perspective that connects objects, experiences, and brands. He believes in the power of design to bridge technology and human needs, challenge conventions, and create meaningful value through collaboration across disciplines.

Now at ITOKI, he is leading creative initiatives and the development of NII, exploring new possibilities for furniture, work environments, and the evolving relationship between people, space, and work.

Throughout his career, he has sought to balance creative ambition with a deep understanding of materials, manufacturing, and real-world contexts — bringing ideas to life through design that is both purposeful and inspiring.​

His work has received numerous international and Japanese design awards, including the iF Design Award Gold, Red Dot Design Award : Best of the Best, Good Design Award Gold, FRAME Awards, and the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Award at the National Commendation for Invention.

He has delivered special lectures and participated in design education at Chiba University, Tama Art University, Kyoto Institute of Technology, and Central Saint Martins in the UK. He has also served as a juror for the Good Design Award.

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instagram: @takohirotaka