CASETiFY Joins Forces with Takashi Murakami to Celebrate One of the Artist’s Most Beloved Characters

CASETiFY, a leading developer of tech accessories for more than a decade, has announced the details for its much-anticipated partnership with Japanese artist and cultural icon Takashi Murakami.

Murakami and CASETiFY teased “TAKASHI MURAKAMI x CASETiFY: MR. DOB” at ComplexCon in Hong Kong in March, billing it as CASETiFY’s most ambitious collaboration with an artist to date. The complete collection officially launches worldwide on April 11, 2025.

“When Takashi-san and I first met, we talked for hours about making art part of everyone’s daily digital life,” says CASETiFY CEO and co-founder Wes Ng. “What followed was months of close collaboration, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible when you merge iconic art with everyday tech. This collection is the result of that shared vision.”

The drop highlights the launch of CASETiFY Travel in December 2024, marking the brand’s expansion into lifestyle accessories beyond the world of tech. Murakami x CASETiFY is the first artist collaboration to feature the new travel line’s flagship offering, the Bounce Carry-On suitcase, which adapts CASETiFY’s proprietary shock-absorbing technology to full-sized cargo.

The Murakami x CASETiFY partnership is also the inaugural installment in the Hong Kong-based company’s new CASETiFY iCONS series, which invites premier brands and creative luminaries to develop limited-edition pieces complete with experiential moments and unexpected product innovations unique to each collaboration.

CASETiFY is no stranger to the world of fine art. A partnership between the tech accessories company and the Louvre Museum imbues laptop cases, magnetic wireless device chargers, and Snappy™ Cardholder Stands with the likenesses of the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, and Ingres’ Grande Odalisque. Earlier this year, CASETiFY debuted its Andy Warhol series, which adapts iconic motifs like the Banana and Campbell’s Soup Can into collectible mobile device cases.

Takashi Murakami is a logical successor in that lineup and the ideal figure to headline CASETiFY’s iCONS series. For more than 30 years, the artist has championed a visual language predicated on the smashing together of dichotomies, an approach he codified with the publication of his “Superflat” theory in 2000. Murakami’s theory describes a Japanese visual art tradition of two-dimensional imagery that privileges depth of color over realistic dimension, and relates this to the flattening of distinctions between fine and popular art that has pervaded in his homeland since the 20th century. Superflat has since become shorthand for Murakami’s era-defining style, which draws inspiration from manga and anime as much as traditional Japanese art forms.

MR. DOB first appeared in Murakami’s work in 1993 and soon became a hallmark of the artist’s idiomatic vocabulary. The character was devised as a comment on the ubiquity and influence of commercialism and an answer to pop culture figures like Doraemon and Mickey Mouse, but has since has become a vector for Murakami’s exploration of other bifurcated themes like innocence and corruption. Today, MR. DOB is seen as an avatar for the artist in its many recurrences and evolutions throughout Murakami’s career.

Murakami’s vibrant aesthetic and knack for coining distinctive characters has long made his work ripe for collaborations. Past partnerships have run the gamut of brands from Crocs and UNO playing cards to Supreme and Louis Vuitton, and he’s teamed up with the likes of Kanye West, Future and Billie Eilish to provide visuals for album covers and music videos. But despite Murakami’s enduring prevalence in pop culture, the Murakami x CASETiFY collection is one of the most significant commercial collaborations centering MR. DOB to date.

“MR. DOB has been my artistic companion since the beginning of my career, representing both my evolution as an artist and my commentary on contemporary culture,” says Murakami. “Through this collaboration with CASETiFY, I’m excited to bring MR. DOB into people’s everyday lives in an entirely new way.”

When it comes to turning everyday carry gear into a personal statement, it’s hard to top what CASETiFY has to offer. Customization is at the core of the company’s brand, and this collection is no exception. The MR. DOB Bounce Carry-On, the cornerstone item in the lineup, can be personalized with the owner’s initials in one of two fonts designed just for CASETiFY: the clean, minimalist DOT font or the bold, geometric SKYLINE font. The luggage’s striking design seamlessly merges this custom monogram with MR. DOB graphics against the eye-catching cobalt blue, cherry red, or matte black background of the Bounce Carry-On’s sleek shell.

If the devil’s in the details, then the details of the collection’s phone cases do not disappoint. Another unmissable Murakami motif, the smiling flower, is integrated into the case’s construction, and select variations can also be personalized with the owner’s initials in CASETiFY’s proprietary DOT and SKYLINE fonts. A truly one-of-a-kind detail, however, is reserved for a single, ultra-limited case design: The ring element that encloses the phone camera housing is white with blue text — a unique variation upon CASETiFY’s signature white-on-black detailing bearing the brand’s wordmark, exclusive to the CASETiFY iCONS series.

The MR. DOB Collectible Headphone Cover presents a wearable option, with MR. DOB-style ears (complete with CASETiFY/Murakami branding) that affix to the headband of Apple AirPods Max headphones, while MR. DOB Collectible Earbuds Case casts the character as a full-body figurine that houses an AirPods charging case. Die-hard collectors might seek out the MR. DOB Phone Case Dangler figurines in one of three colorways — packaged in a blind box to elevate the thrill of the chase — or the MR. DOB Snappy™ Trading Card Holder, a standout accessory to protect and display the most precious additions to any card hunter’s vault.  

“From our first-ever artist-designed personalizable suitcase to the special white camera ring reserved for our iCONS program, every element of this collection pushes creative and technical boundaries,” says Ng, CASETiFY’s CEO. Any Takashi Murakami fan wanting to bring some of the artist’s kaleidoscopic flair to their most reached-for items will find just what they’re looking for in this singular collection.

The CASETiFY x TAKASHI MURAKAMI: MR. DOB collection will be available in very limited quantities through CASETiFY’s online platform and select retail locations throughout South Korea, the United States, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, and Japan. Customers worldwide can preview the full collection and join the waitlist at casetify.com/co-lab/takashi-murakami for exclusive early access before the global launch on April 11, 2025.