Join the Mailing List

Membership

Graphic Design History from Design Reviewed
Kazumasa Nagai - Graphic Design - Japan

IDEA Special Issue: Japanese Graphic Design Exhibition 1984

Information

Japanese Graphic Design Exhibition ’84

Details

  • Format: Magazine
  • Designer/s: Kazumasa Nagai
  • Year: 1984
  • Client/Publisher: Seibundo Shinkosha
  • Size: 224mm x 297mm
Kazumasa Nagai was born in 1929 in Osaka. He left the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music in 1951 and co-founded the Nippon Design Center in 1960. Nagai achieved notable recognition by winning first place in the design competitions for the official symbols of the Sapporo Winter Olympic Games (1966) and EXPO Okinawa (1972). Between 1960 and 1988, he received numerous prestigious awards, including the JAAC Award, Asahi Advertising Award, Mainichi Advertising Award, Yamana Award, and multiple accolades from the Tokyo ADC Show.

Linked Information

IDEA Special Issue: Japanese Graphic Design Exhibition 1984
IDEA Special Issue: Japanese Graphic Design Exhibition 1984. Cover design by Kazumasa Nagai
Kazumasa Nagai was born in 1929 in Osaka. He left the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music in 1951 and co-founded the Nippon Design Center in 1960. Nagai achieved notable recognition by winning first place in the design competitions for the official symbols of the Sapporo Winter Olympic Games (1966) and EXPO Okinawa (1972). Between 1960 and 1988, he received numerous prestigious awards, including the JAAC Award, Asahi Advertising Award, Mainichi Advertising Award, Yamana Award, and multiple accolades from the Tokyo ADC Show.
More graphic design artefacts
Gebrauchsgraphik, 2, 1956. Cover design by Warja Honegger-Lavater
From the design archive:

Gebrauchsgraphik, 02, 1956

  • Format: Magazine
  • Designer/s: Gottfried Honegger-Lavater
  • Year: 1956
View Artefact
Clip, Stamp, Fold - The Radical Architecture of Little Magazines 196X to 197X, 2013
From the design archive:

Clip, Stamp, Fold – The Radical Architecture of Little Magazines 196X to 197X, 2013

  • Format: Book
  • Year: 2013
View Artefact
Graphik – Werbung + Formgebung, 9, 1950
From the design archive:

Graphik – Werbung + Formgebung, 9, 1950

  • Format: Magazine
  • Year: 1950
View Artefact
Idea 278, 2000-1. Cover design by The Designers Republic
From the design archive:

Idea 278, 2000-1

  • Format: Magazine
  • Designer/s: The Designers Republic
  • Year: 2000
View Artefact

view more of the graphic design archive

More graphic design history articles

Members Content

The Graphic, no 1892, 1905
  • Members Only Content

The Birth of the Advertising Agency

The advertising agency played a crucial role in shaping consumer culture by acting as a bridge between businesses and the media and was stated to have started in the mid-19th century.

Members Content

Engineering, British Job Centre Postcard, mid to late 1970s
  • Design Archive Feature, Members Only Content

Friendliness and Efficiency. 1970s Postcards for the British Job Centre

The designer is unstated on these postcards, which were designed during the mid to late 1970s, but these playful illustrations alongside what looks to be Frankfurter Bold definitely fit the criteria of friendliness and efficiency

Members Content

The Swiss designer Adrian Frutiger (1928–2015) created some fantastic typefaces such as Univers, Avenir, and Frutiger, alongside posters, catalogue designs and architectural lettering. He began his career at Deberny & Peignot in Paris as a type designer and set up his own studio in 1960 in Paris focusing on typography and advertising design. Working alongside André Gürtler and Bruno Pfäffli, Frutiger designed many logo designs. Here is a selection of the designs which were featured in Der Druckspiegel, December 1961. I have also translated and rewritten the descriptions to provide more depth. When describing the work of Adrian Frutiger, Kurt Weidemann states, “We live in a time of increasing abstraction,” says Frutiger, in a time of visual, intellectual symbols. If a miller wants a company logo, then a windmill or watermill does not provide a sufficient symbol of his profession. Rather, its job is to crush grains between two masses. Finding a pictorial metaphor for this process might be more difficult, but also more expressive, more apt and timeless. Memorable shapes are simple. A mark that can be immediately drawn in the sand by a child is good. The accompanying typography must not compete with the brand; it must be brought into harmony with it, supporting its expressiveness.) - Der Druckspiegel, October, 1961 (Translated from German) Logo for the advertising agency Arma Publicité. The symbol is based on the letters A R and M. The logo has an emphasised flatness that corresponds to the essence of advertising thanks to its black and white contrast. The triangle shape is a symbol of advancement and dynamism. The embossed form is used in cases requiring discretion. Lettering for the title of a scientific journal. The letterforms are made of straight lines and circles in the spirit of the exact measurements and structures in science. Small and capital letters are mixed together as a deliberate move away from tradition. Business brand for the Brancher Frères paint factory. On the one hand, it is based on the letters B and F, and on the other hand, the silhouettes of the paint can, seen from the side and from above (square and circle). The logo is designed more to the colour than to the formal expression. Original colours: grey, green and blue. Lettering for a printing company. The close sequence of circular elements makes one think of printing cylinders and ink rollers. Logo for the Scripta pantograph milling machine. The arrangement of the arms and joints of the machine have resulted in this S-shape. Right angles were avoided to evoke mobility. The contrast of the strong arms to the fine white space indicates the solidity of a precision device. Company lettering and signs for the Hermann scientific bookstore. The basic element that provided the impetus was the construction plan for the new business facility. Monogram for Jacqueline Iribe, designer of modern decorative fabrics. Irish favourite motifs are rectangles and triangles; the symbol attempts to symbolize this style in the letterform. Original colours: cobalt blue for j, broken cobalt blue for i. Two designs for a sign for the Prache bookbindery. The speciality of this house is spiral and ring binding. The first draft is a name made up of wire, interlocking letters in a circle shape. The second draft follows the same principle but is only based on the P. The rectangle (book, sheet of paper) was included. Monogram for the French architect Georges Johannet. Its architecture is strictly based on geometric elements, in very finely coordinated spatial proportions. Ipreig is the official abbreviation for the Institut professionel de recherches et d'études des industries graphiques. With a view to serving professional progress, it seems justified to give the symbol of this institute the character of an experiment that could be renewed from time to time. (Design not executed).
  • Design Archive Feature, Members Only Content

Logos and Lettering by Adrian Frutiger, André Gürtler and Bruno Pfäffli

Working alongside André Gürtler and Bruno Pfäffli, Adrian Frutiger designed many logo designs. Here is a selection of the designs which were featured in Der Druckspiegel, December 1961. I have also translated and rewritten the descriptions to provide more depth.

Members Content

Karl Otto Goetz - Sprengel Advertisements. Scanned from Gebrauchsgraphik 06, 1954
  • Design Archive Feature, Members Only Content

Sprengel, a Comparison of Advertisements from the 1950s

When perusing vintage publications, I often stumble upon forgotten or undocumented gems. In this article, I compare two remarkable advertisements designed for Sprengel Ltd byHerbert Zumpe and Karl Otto Goetz