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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He runs the graphic design studio Occupy the City and is based in Seoul. He curated and organized the exhibition Occupy the City: Typozimmer Nr. 7 and participated in other exhibitions such as Korean Design: Transforming Forms and Tools of Communication . He is currently an adjunct professor at Konkuk University and teaches graphic design and typography at various universities.
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Min Gu-hong
He studied literature and linguistics at Chung-Ang University and computer programming—though he prefers to call it “narrow-sense literature and linguistics” or “poetic computation”—at the School for Poetic Computation (SFPC) . He worked as an editor, designer, and programmer at Angraphics and Workroom. Now running his one-person company Min Guhong Manufacturing , he works both within and beyond the art and design fields. Meanwhile, through “New Order” , which bills itself as “a liberal arts … -
배수현
After graduating from Korea University with a degree in English Language and Literature and earning a degree in Translation from the Monterey Institute of International Studies , they worked for several years as an interpreter and translator for government agencies and corporations. Currently, they work as a translator specializing in culture, creativity, and technology , while also serving as the Creative Commons Asia-Pacific Coordinator . -
Kim Hyun-ho
Editorial director of VOSTOK magazine and head of VOSTOK PRESS. He is the editor of various publications and the director of PLATFORM-P. He has worked as the chief editor of the design journal Yanggwibi , editor-in-chief of the Seoul National University Press and Culture Center, and a member of the planning committee of the School of Photographic Theory and the bimonthly magazine Wordnbow , and received the Art in Culture New Vision Art Criticism Award. -
Min Kyung-wook
He graduated from Korea University, Department of History and Education, and works as a professional translator. He ran the Japanese culture portal ‘ The Way to Japan ’, which led him to become a professional translator. His major works include Shinkai Makoto’s Weathering With You , Higashino Keigo’s Heart of Brutus , The Murder in Mansion Hakuba , Beautiful Weapon , and Dream Flower , Yoshida Shuichi’s Onna tachi wa Ni do Asobu , Ikeido Jun’s Shylock no … -
아야코 록카쿠
1982년 일본 치바 출생. 현재 베를린을 기반으로 활동하고 있다. 붓 대신 손으로 직접 물감을 밀고 문지르며 화면을 구축하는 독창적 회화 방식으로 국제적 주목을 받아온 작가다. 정규 미술 교육을 받지 않고 독학으로 회화를 시작했으며, 2006년 무라카미 다카시가 주관한 GEISAI에서 ‘스카우트 어워드(SCOUT AWARD)를 수상하며 세계 미술계에 알려졌다. 이후 스위스 바젤에서 열린 VOLTA에 참가한 것을 계기로 활동 무대를 일본에서 유럽으로 확장했다. 초기에는 동화적 소녀 이미지와 강렬한 색채로 주목받았고, 최근에는 형상이 사라진 채 순수한 색과 리듬, 신체적 제스처가 전면화된 추상 회화로 스타일이 이동하고 있다. 유럽·아시아·중국 등 주요 미술관에서 개인전을 열었으며, 오케타 컬렉션, 보를린덴 미술관, 군마현립미술관 등 다수의 공공 컬렉션에 작품이 소장되어 있다. -
Choi Dae-suk
Graduated with a BFA from the College of Fine Arts at Hongik University, an MFA in Industrial Design from Seoul National University, and an MBA in Marketing from Yonsei University. Guided by the belief that “a successful designer must balance theory (文) and practice (武),” he is dedicated to professional design education while contributing to the field as a recommended designer and jury member for the Korea Industrial Design Exhibition. His primary interests include new product … -
Jeong Yeong-seon
CEO of Seoahn Total Landscape Architecture Co., Ltd. and an adjunct professor at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Seoul National University. His notable works include the landscape design for the Won Dharma Center of Won Buddhism in the United States and the basic and detailed designs for the Amorepacific Technology Research Institute. She has received numerous awards for his projects, including the Environmental Culture Award (1998) for the traditional garden Heewon at the Ho-Am … -
Jeon Nina
She graduated from the Department of Fiber Arts at Ewha Womans University and studied Motion Pictures at Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara, USA. She earned a master’s degree in Computer Art from the Academy of Art University (AAU) in San Francisco and completed a doctoral coursework in Media Design at the Cross Media Creative Lab in the Department of Digital Media at Ewha Womans University. Currently, she serves as a professor in the Department of Visual Design at Kaywon University of Art and … -
Shin Myung-ho
Researches the history of visual expression and representational theory, with a focus on picture books, and teaches Studies of Culture and Representation at Musashino Art University in Japan. Engages in various activities such as exhibition planning and translation, striving to raise awareness of the role and impact of picture books in society. -
MERRY-MJ
Born in 1983 in South Korea. He earned a master’s degree in graphic design from Tama Art University Graduate School of Art and completed the TOMSBOX Picture Book Workshop training program in 2009. In 2010, she won the Jury Prize from art director Morimoto Chie at the Illustrated Notes (Seibundo Shinkosha) Notes exhibition, and in 2014, she was selected as Illustrator of the Year at La Fiera del Libroper Ragazzi di Bologna (Bologna International Children’s Book Fair) in Italy. She … -
Nigel Cross
Professor of Design Studies and Head of the Department of Design and Innovation in the Faculty of Technology at the Open University, UK. He has been a faculty member of the Open University’s leading multimedia distance education program since 1970 and teaches a wide range of courses on design and technology. He has an international reputation for design research, particularly in the areas of design methodology and design perception. He is also the editor-in-chief of Design Studies , an …