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Kiyoshi Awazu

Poetry and Thought – Volume 1, Issue 2, 1972

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Kiyoshi Awazu
Kiyoshi Awazu was born in Tokyo in 1929 and was largely self-taught as a designer. He established himself in the 1950s and 1960s as one of the most distinctive voices in Japanese graphic design, producing poster work that drew on traditional Japanese imagery and folk art rather than the Swiss-influenced modernism of many contemporaries. His visual language combined photomontage, hand-drawn elements, and bold colour in ways that reflected a more expressive and politically engaged approach. He taught at Musashino Art University and received numerous awards, including a prize at the Warsaw International Poster Biennale. He died in Tokyo in 2009. Explore related designers including Shigeo Fukuda and Tadanori Yokoo. See also Japanese Modernism, Japanese graphic design history, and 1960s graphic design history.

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Poetry and Thought -Volume 1, Issue 2, 1972. Cover design by Kiyoshi Awazu
Poetry and Thought -Volume 1, Issue 2, 1972. Cover design by Kiyoshi Awazu
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