Smiley Face Screws Bring Joy to Your D.I.Y. Projects


It's easy to overlook a screw. This ubiquitous object hasn't majorly changed in our lifetime, and you wouldn't expect it to. Well, forget the standard Phillips and flat-heads, because Japanese designer Yuma Kano created the Screw 🙂, a take on the universal product that has its head imprinted with a smiley face. Kano produced these tiny bolts in collaboration with the Komuro Seisakusho factory in East Osaka, Japan. He also designed a screwdriver with an identical grin that makes Screw 🙂 a viable option for do-it-yourself projects.

Kano wanted to infuse emotion into a small, everyday object. What better to use than a screw? It's industrial and utilitarian, and not something you'd expect to see smiling. Upon discovering this pleasant surprise, it inspires you to pass the joy along to others. We see this as the point of Kano's work. Screw:) is not entirely about how it functions, but if it brightens peoples' lives with they use it.




Yuma Kano website
via [Lustik and Colossal]

Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met, Manager of My Modern Met Store, and co-host of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. As an illustrator and writer living in Seattle, she chronicles illustration, embroidery, and beyond through her blog Brown Paper Bag and Instagram @brwnpaperbag. She wrote a book about embroidery artist Sarah K. Benning titled 'Embroidered Life' that was published by Chronicle Books in 2019. Sara is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art. She earned her BFA in Illustration in 2008 and MFA in Illustration Practice in 2013.
Become a
My Modern Met Member
As a member, you'll join us in our effort to support the arts.
Become a Member
Explore member benefits

Sponsored Content