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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NAMELESS Architecture is a idea-based design practice, based in Seoul. Committed to the simplicity on the unpredictable world, they explore the world of architecture, city, and global cultural phenomenon. NAMELESS’s work has been widely published and exhibited at Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York Center for Architecture, Parsons The New School, Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) and Seoul Museum of Art, National Museum of Korea. The office has received numerous awards, including …
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황준필
그래픽 디자이너. 홍익대학교에서 석사 논문을 쓰며 다석을 만나 다석의 한글 씀이 한글을 이용한 타이포그래피 디자인의 바탕을 넓히는 일이라는 사실을 알게 되었다. 또한 우리가 오래 써왔던 우리말에 깊은 철학적 성찰이 담겨 있으며, 세종이 이를 기호화해 한글을 지었고, 다석은 한글의 기호적 의미를 다시 시각화했음을 깨달았다. 현재 스튜디오 ‘디자인하다’에서 한글을 사용해 멋짓는 디자인을 한다. 한양대, 가천대, 한세대에서 타이포그래피와 편집 디자인을 강의했으며, IF 디자인 어워드 등 디자인 어워드에서 수상했다. 한국타이포그라피학회 회원이다. -
Piers Bizony
A science journalist, filmmaker, and book creator, he began his career as a portrait photographer in London and has contributed articles on science, aerospace, and cosmology to various magazines in the UK and the US. From 2012 to 2018, he worked closely with Stanley Kubrick’s family on book projects and international exhibitions commemorating Kubrick’s films 2001: A Space Odyssey and Dr. Strangelove . He collaborated with NASA on a major retrospective celebrating its most iconic missions for … -
LG Electronics Brand Book Production Center
Since 1958, LG Electronics has been committed to the belief that everyone deserves a better life. This philosophy extends beyond products and services, driving human-centered innovation and a focus on joy in everything they do. The LG Electronics Brand Book Production Center has gathered previously untold stories from the employees of LG Electronics, preserving their experiences in a carefully crafted book. Through these stories, the brand aims to share with a broader audience the message of … -
Yoon Hee-su
She graduated from Hongik University and Hochschule der Kuenste, Berlin, and received her PhD in Fine Arts from Hongik University Graduate School. She is a professor of art education at Gongju University College of Education, and has been experimenting with design and initiative. She is constantly reading the time and space of discarded objects. She has held ten solo exhibitions and participated in more than 40 group exhibitions. He is the author of Basic Design , a co-authored book, and a … -
Choi Ji-won
A senior researcher at AG Typography Institute , the designer previously worked at Yoon Design and T-Lab before joining AG Typography Institute, where they led projects such as Jeju Air’s corporate typeface “Flight Sans” and “AG Choi Jeongho Sun Myeongjo.” As an independent type designer , they released “Damjae,” a typeface designed for vertical writing, and collaborated with designer Lee Yongje on the typefaces “Nouvelle” and “Jonjae.” -
Gail Greet Hannah
Gail Greet Hannah is a writer specializing in design and marketing. She was a friend of Rowena Reed Kostellow and worked with her to publish her teaching method. She lives in Cold Spring Harbor. -
Kim Jin-woo
Kim Jin-woo is a professor at the Yonsei School of Business and the head of Yonsei HCI Lab. After earning his degree in Business Administration from Yonsei University, he began his career as a program developer. But he eventually realized that programming wasn’t his true calling, so he pursued an MBA at UCLA. Upon graduation, he worked as a systems consultant at KPMG, but his desire to make a more direct impact on people’s lives led him to Carnegie Mellon University, where he completed his … -
Kim Hee-young
She graduated from Seoul National University’s College of Arts and Humanities with a B.A. in English Literature and received her M.A. in Fine Arts from the same graduate school. She earned an MA in art history from the University of Chicago and a PhD in art history from the University of Iowa. She is currently a professor in the Department of Art at Kookmin University College of Art. She is the author of Korean Abstract Painting: A Formation of Korean Avant-Garde (2013), The Vestige of … -
Korean Society of Typography
The Korean Society of Typography (hereafter KST) is an academic organization in South Korea, started in 2009. The KST supports many design activities to diversify the visual communication field. Some of which include the journal LetterSeed , academic conferences, annual exhibitions as well special committees on Korean typography, typographic terminology, digital typography education, international typography biennale, and a diverse range of research. -
Le Corbusier
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, known as Le Corbusier was a Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, urban planner and writer, who was one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland to French speaking Swiss parents, and acquired French nationality by naturalization on 19 September 1930. His career spanned five decades, in which he designed buildings in Europe, Japan, India, as well as North and South America. He considered that “the roots of … -
비유에스건축
BUS Architects is an architectural design firm led by three partners: Park Ji-hyun, Woo Seung-jin, and Cho Sung-hak . The firm focuses on establishing diverse relationships between cities, culture, and people , drawing from meaningful imagination that can emerge through architecture and space. Rather than emphasizing the “construction” of architecture, BUS Architects prioritizes the “process” behind it. In this context, “BUS” represents both a commitment to …