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 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 …
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Géraldine Borio
Dr Géraldine Borio is the founder of Borio Lab and an Assistant Professor at The University of Hong Kong, Department of Architecture. Dr Borio is a Swiss-registered architect who holds a PhD in architecture from RMIT, Australia, as well as a master’s degree in architecture from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL). Invested widely in knowledge transmission through teaching, research and publication, Dr Borio has conducted numerous workshops and lectures worldwide. Prior … -
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 … -
Valentina Vergara
Valentina Vergara is a multidisciplinary designer and illustrator who’s interested in using design as a catalyst for change. She’s collaborated on projects addressing gender disparity in graphic design education and continues to explore ways in which she can dismantle oppressive design thinking and continue to advocate for and uplift marginalized perspectives. -
Lee Sung-pyo
An illustrator who believes in the comforting power of pictures. Starting with the magazine Madang in 1982, he has worked in various fields such as newspapers, magazines, books, picture books, and advertisements. He taught at Hongik University’s Visual Design Department and the Korea School of Illustration for many years. He illustrated the picture books Tiger , It’s raining , Boy , and Reading Poetry , and wrote and illustrated Blue Walk , I’m Big, You’re Small , and … -
Byunggeol Min
He is a graphic designer. After graduating from the Department of Visual Communication Design at Hongik University, he worked as a designer at Angraphics. He then went on to study “typography using mathematical algorithms” in the graduate program of Visual Communication Design at Musashino Art University. Upon returning to Seoul, he served as a design director at Noon Design and took part in Jindallae’s collective activities, undertaking numerous projects that derive various forms from fixed … -
배상규
After studying Architectural Engineering at Yonsei University , they worked in the construction industry. Following their completion of the English Publishing Translation program at Gulbab Academy , they began working as a translator affiliated with Barun Translation . Their translated works include Japanese-Style Small Houses . -
Yamamoto Riken
Riken Yamamoto, born 1945 in Beijing, China is a Japanese architect. In 2024, he received the Pritzker Architecture Prize, considered to be the most prestigious award in architecture, becoming the 9th Japanese architect to receive such honor. -
빅게임
Founded in 2004 , this design studio was established by Swiss designers Augustin Scott de Martinville, Grégoire Jeanmonod, and Elric Petit . Having met as friends at the École Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne (ECAL) , they have built a solid team dynamic and an optimistic design approach , creating practical yet distinctive everyday objects . Their work has been recognized with numerous awards, including the Swiss Design Award, iF Design Award, and Good Design Award . Their designs are part of the … -
Doi Akifumi
Born in Hiroshima in 1957. Owner of Tom’s Box. Handles picture books and books related to picture books. He has been involved in the planning and editing of over 300 picture books to date, including the Forest of Images series (Holp Shuppan) and Neko no Sweater (Oikawa Kenji, Takeuchi Mayuko). He also organizes the workshop Atosaki Juku with Akira Ono, which aims to nurture picture book authors. -
Jin Whui-yeon
With a bachelor’s degree in Archaeology and Art History from Seoul National University and a master’s and Ph.D. in Art History from Columbia University, she has built a distinguished academic career. After teaching at the Samsung Design Institute (SADI) and the Department of Painting at Sungshin Women’s University, she is currently a professor at the Korea National University of Arts, School of Visual Arts. Her work focuses on the dynamic intersection of art exhibitions, criticism, … -
Kan Tai-Keung
An active design educator and artist, Kan Tai-keung is one of Hong Kong’s most famous graphic designers and noted ink painters. Born in 1942 in Pangyu, Guangdong, Kan has resided in Hong Kong since 1957. His passion for painting developed early on in his childhood, and his grandfather, Kan Yaosheng, a clay sculptor, encouraged his pursuit of art. Kan first studied art and design in 1964, and then watercolour painting and sketching with his uncle Kan May-tin. In 1967, he began attending …