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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An editorial designer who graduated from Korea University with a degree in French Literature and studied design at École Estienne in Paris. In 1979, he co-founded the editorial company Yeoreogaji Munje Yeonguso with writer Lee Yoon-ki and later established Jung Byung-kyu Design in 1985, which continues to this day. He has served as a Specialist for the Seoul Olympics, President of the Korean Society of Visual Information Design, and President of the Korean Society for Image Culture. His career …
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Woohyuk Park
He studied graphic design and typography at Hongik University and Basel School of Design in Switzerland, and earned a Ph.D. in Hangul Typography from Hongik University. He co-runs the design studio Typepage with designer Jindallae, working on various social and cultural design projects in collaboration with different organizations. Currently, he is an associate professor in the Department of Design at Seoul National University of Science and Technology. He has written and designed books such as … -
Lu Jingren
Prof. Lu Jingren is a book designer and illustrator. During the 1990s, he studied under Prof. Kohei Sugiura (杉浦康平) in Japan. In 1998 he established the Jingren Art Design Studio. He was senior art editor of the China Youth Publishing House. He is now a professor of the Academy of Arts and Design of Tsinghua University and a member of Alliance Graphique Internationale (AGI). Prof. Lu has received many book design awards at home and overseas, including the World’s Most Beautiful Book award … -
Mitra Reyhani Ghadim
Dr. Mitra Reyhani Ghadim, LCAT, ATR-BC, is a NYS licensed, registered art therapist, researcher, author, and educator. She works with the NYS Office of Mental Health, currently at Sagamore Children’s Psychiatric Center. She worked as a full-time museum art therapist for nearly a decade, making contributions to the ArtAccess Programs and Autism Initiatives of the Queens Museum, as well as Nassau County Museum of the Arts. She also worked in adult clinical settings such as Mount Sinai South … -
Fukasawa Naoto
Naoto Fukasawa was born in 1956 in Yamanashi, Japan. He graduated from Tama Art University in 1980 and began his career at Seiko Epson, where he worked on advanced designs for watches and other micro-electronic devices. In 1989, he joined ID Two, a San Francisco-based product design firm that later became IDEO. In 1996, Fukasawa returned to Japan to establish and oversee IDEO’s Tokyo office. In 2003, he founded Naoto Fukasawa Design . Since 2001, he has served as a design advisor for MUJI … -
Kim Eung-hwa
She graduated from Seoul National University, Department of Applied Arts, and Tama Art University, Department of Graphic Design, Japan. She is a member of the Korean Society of Package Design and the Package Design Association. She has participated in three solo exhibitions and numerous group exhibitions. She is currently a professor at the Department of Communication Design, College of Design, Hanyang University. Her translations include Package Soft: Packaging as a Marketing Tool . -
Noh Min-ji
She is a typeface designer based in Seoul. She received her master’s degree from Hongik University Graduate School with a research on Korean punctuation. He has been working as a typeface designer at the AG Typography Institute since 2012, after having worked at the Yoon Design Institute. She has developed typefaces such as Boeunche, Maleungullimche, and Bomnunche. -
Ko Il-hong
She graduated from the Department of Archaeology and Art History at Seoul National University and received her MA and PhD in archaeology from the University of Sheffield, UK. She has taught at Seoul National University, KyungHee University, Soongsil University, and Chungnam National University, and was a research professor at the HK Research Institute of Humanities at Seoul National University, and is currently a senior researcher at the Seoul National University Asia Center. She is the … -
Muroga Kiyonori
He is the former editor-in-chief of Japan’s renowned design magazine Idea . Currently, he works as an editor, writer, and curator specializing in graphic design and typography. -
Arumjigi
The Arumjigi Foundation is a non-profit organization established in November 2001, dedicated to creatively preserving and passing down Korea’s traditional culture. Its mission is to rediscover the identity of Korean culture and cultivate new cultural heritage for future generations. Through efforts to care for Korea’s traditional cultural heritage and its surrounding environments, Arumjigi seeks to ensure that the values of tradition remain alive in modern life across clothing, … -
Youngjoo Park
She earned her master’s degree in Visual Communication Design from the Department of Visual Design at Hongik University and the Graduate School of Art and Design at the University of Tsukuba. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Human Environmental Design at the Graduate School of Natural Science at Chiba University. She is a member of the Korea Package Design Association, VIDAK (Visual Information Design Association of Korea), and the Korean Society of Basic Design & Art. Her research … -
Youngwon Park
He majored in Visual Design at Hongik University and went on to study Advertising Design and Visual Communication at the Graduate School of Industrial Arts at Hongik University and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). While studying signage and symbols at the University of Illinois at Chicago, he explored a semiotic approach to design research. He later earned a Ph.D. in Fine Arts from Hongik University, where he analyzed visual humor through semiotics. He has contributed to the …