Ikko Tanaka was a Japanese graphic designer. Tanaka is widely recognized for his prolific body of interdisciplinary work, which includes graphic identity and visual matter for brands and corporations including Seibu Department Stores, Mazda, Issey Miyake, Hanae Mori, and Expo 85. He is credited with developing the foundational graphic identity for lifestyle brand Muji, emphasizing the “no brand” quality of their products through unadorned, charming line drawings paired with straightforward slogans. His use of bold, polychromatic geometries and his harnessing of the dynamic visual potential of typography are undergirded by a sensitivity towards traditional Japanese aesthetics. Though keenly sensitive to historical precedents and established conventions, Tanaka nevertheless maintained a degree of playfulness in his work, manipulating color, scale, and form to reconfigure familiar iconographies into fresh and accessible visual representations. Tanaka is also widely recognized for his posters designs for Noh productions and other performances and exhibitions staged in Japan and beyond. He was active in realms of typography, exhibition design, and book design as well, and his publication Japan Style was released in 1980 alongside the Victoria and Albert Museum exhibition of the same name. As a leading figure in postwar Japanese design, Tanaka is also credited with playing a role in the professionalization and expansion of the discipline.
Authors
Tanaka Ikko
田中一光
다른 사람들
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Graduated with a degree in Interior Design from the École Municipale des Beaux-Arts Appliqués in Lyon, France, and worked as an interior designer at LG Chem. Currently, teaches and explores architectural spaces with students in the Department of Interior Architecture at Daegu Haany University.
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Ahn Sang-soo
Ahn Sang-soo is a graphic designer and typographer with a keen interest in Korean visual culture. He studied in the Visual Communication Design Department at Hongik University, where he also completed his graduate studies. A former professor at his alma mater, he took early retirement in 2012 to establish the Paju Typography Institute, where he currently serves as the president, also known as ‘Nalgae.’ In 2007, he received the Gutenberg Prize from the city of Leipzig, Germany. He is also a … -
Ito Toyo
Toyo Ito (born 1 June 1941) is a Japanese architect known for creating conceptual architecture, in which he seeks to simultaneously express the physical and virtual worlds. He is a leading exponent of architecture that addresses the contemporary notion of a “simulated” city, and has been called “one of the world’s most innovative and influential architects.” In 2013, Ito was awarded the Pritzker Prize, one of architecture’s most prestigious prizes. He was a … -
Lee Young-choon
He graduated from Hongik University, College of Fine Arts, Department of Wooden Furniture, and majored in Industrial Design at Rochester Institute of Technology, USA. He has worked as a senior designer at Spoon Design, an adjunct professor at the Department of Industrial Design at Rochester Institute of Technology, a commissioned researcher at the Korea Institute of Design Promotion (KIDP), and is currently a professor at the Department of Living Furniture Design at Seoil University. -
Yonsei HCI Lab
The Yonsei HCI Lab focuses on research in human-AI interaction, with a special emphasis on UX design for digital health systems that enhance well-being and treat diseases. The lab members, who are not just HCI experts but ‘Experience Engineers,’ are dedicated to developing innovative digital health products that help bring meaningful experiences through AI technology. -
Frank Berzbach
Born in 1971, received technical education to become an industrial draftsman and completed mandatory training at a psychiatric hospital. Subsequently studied education, psychology, philosophy, and literature in Cologne, Bonn, and Frankfurt, focusing on the ethical issues of constructivism. Later transitioned to a career as a science journalist. As of 2011, teaches psychology and philosophy at the Eco Design Academy and design at a vocational school in Cologne. Co-founder of the knowledge portal … -
Kim Jin-sub
A pilgrim who travels around the country in search of book-making tools and machines, a collector who collects books handmade by senior craftsmen, a connector who is networked with professionals in the publishing and printing industry, a squirrelly teacher who can’t throw away anything once he gets his hands on it and hides it here and there like an acorn, a cranky old man who finds happiness in the things he collects, but sometimes struggles with insomnia, and the owner of the tools … -
Armin Hofmann
Armin Hofmann was a Swiss graphic designer. He was one of the most prominent individuals in Swiss design. He began his career in 1947 as a teacher at the Allgemeine Gewerbeschule Basel School of Art and Crafts at the age of twenty-six. Hofmann followed Emil Ruder as head of the graphic design department at the Schule für Gestaltung Basel (Basel School of Design) and was instrumental in developing the graphic design style known as the Swiss Style. His teaching methods were unorthodox and broad … -
Kang Sung-joong
After graduating from Hanyang University with a degree in precision mechanical engineering, he worked as an engineer at Ssangyong Engineering before graduating from Seoul National University with a degree in industrial design. He then completed a master’s degree in industrial design at Seoul National University, a master’s degree in interaction design at Carnegie Mellon University, and a doctorate in design at Seoul National University. He has trained designers at Hanyang University … -
Kim Eun-young
She started her career as a book designer at a design-focused publishing house and now works as a planner building on her foundation in design. As she strived to truly understand her work, she ended up writing her third book and became someone who shares knowledge in front of others. Although she has experienced design and publishing as professional fields, she places more emphasis on design and bookmaking as part of everyday life and general education. Since August 2012, she has been teaching … -
최명환
대학에서 시각디자인을 공부하고 편집 디자이너로 커리어를 시작했다. 디자이너로서 인문학적 소양을 쌓고자 홍익대학교 대학원 미학과에 진학했다가, 디자인을 해석하고 표현하는 일에 소질이 있다는 사실을 깨달았다. 이후 다양한 매거진에 객원으로 참여하며 2013년 월간 『디자인』 기자로 정식 합류했고, 지금까지 디자인 전방위에 관련된 글을 쓰고 있다. 2021년부터 월간 『디자인』 편집장으로 활동 중이다. -
Kim Yeong-seon
She graduated from the Department of Creative Writing at Chung-Ang University and completed coursework in Aesthetics at Hongik University Graduate School. After working as a publishing editor and caregiver, she is currently active as a professional translator. Her translated works include The Death of Truth , Churchill’s Black Dog, Kafka’s Mice , Automating Inequality , Capital Without Borders , To the Letter , The Art of Forgetting and “Why Heidegger Should Not Be …