The archive · Product Ideas · Product decision · 2018
TRIAD's Omoshiroi Block memo pad becomes paper Kiyomizu-dera — 80K retweets
An Osaka model-making firm laser-cuts memo pads that build a miniature Kiyomizu-dera or Osaka Castle as each page is torn off — sold out, website crashed.
TRIAD Inc. (トライアード)
What it had to solve
TRIAD, an Osaka company that started as an architectural model maker and won Japan's TV Champion model-building contest, wanted to bring architectural craftsmanship to everyday objects. Memo pads are disposable, so the firm inverted that premise: the pad itself becomes the finished sculpture.
How it works
In January 2018, a Japanese memo pad called Omoshiroi Block ('fun block') went viral: each block of 100 to 150 sheets is laser-cut so that tearing off pages progressively reveals a detailed paper sculpture of a famous building — Kiyomizu-dera, Sensoji, Osaka Castle or Tokyo Tower.
It was made by TRIAD Inc., an Osaka company that began as an architectural model maker and won the TV Champion 'architectural model king' contest. President Hideto Horiguchi described the concept as 'Memory × Moment × Sculpture': a disposable object that accumulates into something worth keeping.
Online posts about the pads drew roughly 130,000 likes and 80,000 retweets; stock sold out and the official website crashed under demand, forcing the maker to apologize and step up production. Priced between ¥3,800 and ¥10,000, the pads briefly sold only in Osaka stores while production caught up.
Why it lands
- It inverted the category's premise: a consumable memo pad became a keepsake, so using it up is the point.
- The reveal gave the product a built-in narrative — every torn page was a teaser for the completed sculpture.
- Precision craft (laser cutting, hand assembly, 150 sheets for Kiyomizu-dera) made the payoff genuinely impressive rather than a gimmick.
- It took an architectural model maker's niche skill and turned it into a ¥3,800–10,000 consumer product that carried the craft worldwide.
What it did
When the pads surfaced online in January 2018, posts drew roughly 130,000 likes and 80,000 retweets; stock sold out and the official website crashed under demand, prompting an apology from the maker. ArchDaily and other design media worldwide covered the blocks, and similar 'reveal' memo pads appeared from other stationery makers.
What you can take
Put the payoff inside the act of using the product: tearing pages is the daily ritual, so the reveal is built into normal use — the product's own usage becomes the advertising.
Since then
After the viral wave, TRIAD expanded the range with Osaka-specific designs (Osaka Castle, even takoyaki with toothpick and boat) and seasonal editions such as Kyoto in autumn colors. The product became a fixture of design coverage and a signature gift from Osaka; the idea of sculptural, reveal-style stationery spread to other makers, and OMOSHIROI BLOCK continued as the firm's flagship line.
Sources
- These Japanese Memo Pads Reveal Architectural Sites As Each Sheet is Removed
- 日本这款便签纸太有创意，每撕一张都让人惊喜！
- OMOSHIROI BLOCK — 想い出と時間をカタチに刻むメモパッド
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