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

Graphic Design 84, 1981

Information

Content includes:
Heike-Nokyo, decorative sutras of the Taira Family
video graphics – TV Globo of Brazil
Los Angeles 1984 Olympics symbol mark competition
Hijikata’s non-commissioned posters
Carto-graphisme Exhibition at the Centre Georges Pompidou
in the shadow of Polish posters
global new waves in 80s – Sorayama / Hisatani / Minokura
Techno – graphy Exhibition by six TDS members – Katsui / Endo / Sato / Kamijo / Ishioka / Kawakita isometric method used in pictorial book of dry Japanese gardens
Design ’81 in Helsinki
designer’s self-portrait
concept of AXIS Building / interview with Hamano yasuhiro and Ishibashi hiroshi
Japan Graphic Designers Association news

Graphic Design / グラフィックデザイン, delved into the world of graphic design and visual culture. The magazine featured a broad range of content, including coverage of cutting-edge Japanese design and its history, as well as international graphic design.

Details

  • Format: Magazine
  • Designer/s: Kazumasa Nagai
  • Year: 1981
  • Client/Publisher: Diamond publishing
  • Size: 260mm x 300mm
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

Graphic Design 84, 1981
Graphic Design 84, 1981. Cover design by Kazumasa Nagai, 
Graphic Design / グラフィックデザイン, delved into the world of graphic design and visual culture. The magazine featured a broad range of content, including coverage of cutting-edge Japanese design and its history, as well as international graphic design.
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.
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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).
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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.
The Complete Film Posters of Hans Hillmann
  • Design Books

Moving Pictures – The complete film posters of Hans Hillmann

This book shows, for the first time, all of Hans Hillmann’s film posters. Unpublished sketches and drafts from his estate along with commentary from conversations and interviews provide an insight into the creative process of the award-winning designer.

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Social Welfare Funds, Netherlands Maxi Card (Yellow), 1970. Designed by Ootje Oxenaar
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The Innovative Netherlands Stamps designed by Ootje Oxenaar in 1970

Ootje Oxenaar designed the summer stamps for the Netherlands using an assignment from De Nederlandsche Bank based on banknotes. The assignment resulted in the collaboration of Oxenaar, the printer, the laboratory and the banking specialist, in which they experimented with the design of securities on printed matter.
Full-page ads for the newspaper «Stuttgarter Nachrichten» designed by Herbert W. Kapitzki
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Abstract Publicity – Self-Advertisements of the Stuttgarter Nachrichten by Fritz Seitz, 1963

The graphic designer had to create a series of ads whose new publicity effects were to confirm or accentuate the already existing • image • of the paper. In this case, the planning was not based on a would-be psychological analysis of the reading public.