INDUSTRY:
STATIONARY
CLIENT:
SELF
YEAR:
2026
EXPERIENCE:
INTERACTION & PACKAGING DESIGN
KIRI HARU
Overview.
Kiri Haru is a pre-cut artist tape strip in a Post-it-style pad: designed for one-handed use, clean edges, and no wasted time. Built for makers who reach for tape dozens of times a day.
Iteration.
The tape roll is one of the most-used tools in any studio — and one of the least considered. Finding the edge, tearing a clean strip, doing it one-handed while holding a model: all of it is harder than it should be.
multiple inconsistent lengths of tape for same purpose
excess folds and tape used
short tape strips used repeated
The desk dispenser doesn't fix this. It's stationary, takes two hands, still tears unevenly, and belongs nowhere near a creative workspace aesthetically.
Bulky and Not portable
Not aesthetically pleasing
Still tears unevenly
tapestips.com
IPC strips 2" x 6"
Pack of 25 for $72.28
Pre-cut pads of heavy-duty packaging tape. B2B focused, sold in bulk. No design consideration whatsoever.
Proves the format. Wrong market.
Industrial / B2B
3M Scotch
Tape Sheets 3750P
Price for 1 carton $82
Pre-cut strips in a wrist-worn dispenser. Launched 1997, loved by consumers, then quietly discontinued. Demand was proven and then abandoned.
Discontinued
Proved the demand. Left a gap.
Team
Pop-Up Tape Strips
Price for 1 carton $82
Pre-cut 2"×6" sheets for in-field package repair. Removable paper tab, dispenser-free. Purely functional, zero aesthetic, industrial use only.
Industrial / repair
Industrial / repair
Every tool on a maker's desk has been thoughtfully designed. Tape hasn't.
Ideation.
User Testing.
Three approaches to the same interaction; how do you grip a strip of tape with one hand and know exactly where the adhesive starts?
A corner tab keeps the adhesive surface almost fully intact but is too small to find consistently. A paper liner protects the full surface but adds a step and a second material. The full edge tab makes the entire short end non-adhesive: easy to find, easy to grip
15 of 17 people tested chose the full edge tab without hesitation.
Iteration.
The tape roll is one of the most-used tools in any studio — and one of the least considered. Finding the edge, tearing a clean strip, doing it one-handed while holding a model: all of it is harder than it should be.
The non-adhesive edge lifts
A full non-adhesive edge means one end of the strip doesn't contact the surface. It lifts slightly visible, unfinished, and at odds with the clean seamless result we're designing for.
Perforations — tear it off, sit flush
Perforations along the tab boundary let the user tear off the non-adhesive section cleanly after applying. The tape sits completely flush. The tab exists only long enough to serve its purpose, and then it's gone.
User Journey.
Sizes
Two sizes for two use patterns: 65mm for precision work and paper mounting, 115mm for structural joins and larger surface work. Both share the 15mm tab — the minimum comfortable one-handed pinch grip, with margin for smaller hands, without eating into usable adhesive surface.
Why Artists Tape.
PRE-CUT · ONE-HANDED · FLUSH
Result.
Packaging.
