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Kazumasa Nagai - Graphic Design - Japan

Designer: 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.

Articles Featuring the Work of Kazumasa Nagai

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Kazumasa Nagai. Japanese Graphic Designer | 1929
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Kazumasa Nagai. Japanese Graphic Designer | 1929

Kazumasa Nagai  (永井 一正) was born in 1929 in Osaka and is one of Japan's most acclaimed graphic designers. He designed iconic corporate logos for major companies such as Mitsubishi UFJ, Japan Railways, Nissin, and TEPCO and designed 100s of posters.

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Graphic Design 30, 1968 | Ikko Tanaka | Japanese Magazine
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Japanese Modernism

Japanese modern design was heavily influenced by European art movements, particularly modernism and the Bauhaus school. As Japan's advertising industry expanded, it increasingly drew from Western culture, especially television and film, resulting in designs that were eclectic, vibrant, and infused with modernist energy.

Artefacts Featuring the Work of Kazumasa Nagai

Design (Japan), 71, 1965. Cover design by Kazumasa Nagai
From the design archive:

Design (Japan), 71, 1965

  • Format: Magazine
  • Designer/s: Kazumasa Nagai
  • Year: 1965
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Design (Japan), 74, 1965. Cover design by Kazumasa Nagai
From the design archive:

Design (Japan), 74, 1965

  • Format: Magazine
  • Designer/s: Kazumasa Nagai
  • Year: 1965
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Design (Japan), 72, 1965. Cover design by Kazumasa Nagai
From the design archive:

Design (Japan), 72, 1965

  • Format: Magazine
  • Designer/s: Kazumasa Nagai
  • Year: 1965
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Design (Japan), 73, 1965. Cover design by Kazumasa Nagai
From the design archive:

Design (Japan), 73, 1965

  • Format: Magazine
  • Designer/s: Kazumasa Nagai
  • Year: 1965
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gq 03 - A Quarterly Review of the Graphic Work, 1973. Cover design by Kazumasa Nagai
From the design archive:

gq 03 – A Quarterly Review of the Graphic Work, 1973

  • Format: Magazine
  • Designer/s: Kazumasa Nagai
  • Year: 1973
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gq 02 - A Quarterly Review of the Graphic Work, 1972. Cover design by Kazumasa Nagai
From the design archive:

gq 02 – A Quarterly Review of the Graphic Work, 1972

  • Format: Magazine
  • Designer/s: Kazumasa Nagai
  • Year: 1972
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Graphis 198, 1978/79. Cover design by Kazumasa Nagai
From the design archive:

Graphis 198, 1978/79

  • Format: Magazine
  • Designer/s: Kazumasa Nagai
  • Year: 1978
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IDEA Special Issue: Japanese Graphic Design Exhibition 1984
From the design archive:

IDEA Special Issue: Japanese Graphic Design Exhibition 1984

  • Format: Magazine
  • Designer/s: Kazumasa Nagai
  • Year: 1984
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Graphic Design 84, 1981
From the design archive:

Graphic Design 84, 1981

  • Format: Magazine
  • Designer/s: Kazumasa Nagai
  • Year: 1981
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Graphic Design 81, 1981
From the design archive:

Graphic Design 81, 1981

  • Format: Magazine
  • Designer/s: Kazumasa Nagai
  • Year: 1981
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Graphic Design 82, 1981
From the design archive:

Graphic Design 82, 1981

  • Format: Magazine
  • Designer/s: Kazumasa Nagai
  • Year: 1981
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Idea 150, 1978-09. Cover design by Kazumasa Nagai
From the design archive:

Idea 150, 1978-09

  • Format: Magazine
  • Designer/s: Kazumasa Nagai
  • Year: 1978
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gq 07 - A Quarterly Review of the Graphic Work, 1974. Cover design by Kazumasa Nagai
From the design archive:

gq 07 – A Quarterly Review of the Graphic Work, 1974

  • Format: Magazine
  • Designer/s: Kazumasa Nagai
  • Year: 1974
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gq 06 - A Quarterly Review of the Graphic Work, 1974
From the design archive:

gq 06 – A Quarterly Review of the Graphic Work, 1974

  • Format: Magazine
  • Designer/s: Kazumasa Nagai
  • Year: 1974
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gq 05 - A Quarterly Review of the Graphic Work, 1974
From the design archive:

gq 05 – A Quarterly Review of the Graphic Work, 1974

  • Format: Magazine
  • Designer/s: Kazumasa Nagai
  • Year: 1974
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gq 04 - A Quarterly Review of the Graphic Work, 1974
From the design archive:

gq 04 – A Quarterly Review of the Graphic Work, 1973

  • Format: Magazine
  • Designer/s: Kazumasa Nagai
  • Year: 1974
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gq 01 - A Quarterly Review of the Graphic Work, 1972
From the design archive:

gq 01 – A Quarterly Review of the Graphic Work, 1972

  • Format: Magazine
  • Designer/s: Kazumasa Nagai
  • Year: 1972
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Graphic Design 07, 1962. Cover design by Kazumasa Nagai
From the design archive:

Graphic Design 07, 1962

  • Format: Magazine
  • Designer/s: Kazumasa Nagai
  • Year: 1962
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Industrial Art News - Vol. 28, No. 5, August 1960. Cover design by Kazumasa Nagai
From the design archive:

Industrial Art News – Vol. 28, No. 5, August 1960

  • Format: Magazine
  • Designer/s: Kazumasa Nagai
  • Year: 1960
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Ginza Graphic Gallery 06, Kazumasa Nagai
From the design archive:

Kazumasa Nagai (World Graphic Design 6), 1993

  • Format: Book
  • Designer/s: Kazumasa Nagai
  • Year: 1993
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Idea October 1966 Extra issue. Cover design by Kazumasa Nagai.
From the design archive:

Idea October 1966 Extra issue

  • Format: Magazine
  • Designer/s: Kazumasa Nagai
  • Year: 1966
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Idea 223, 1990-11. Cover design by Kazumasa Nagai
From the design archive:

Idea 223, 1990-11

  • Format: Magazine
  • Designer/s: Kazumasa Nagai
  • Year: 1990
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More from Design Reviewed

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Graphic Design 08, 1962. Cover design by Tadashi Ohashi
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Tadashi Ohashi. Japanese Graphic Designer | 1916 – 1988

Tadashi Ohashi was at the forefront of Japan's postwar design movement, with his illustrations widely celebrated. In 1952, he became the chief designer for Meiji Seika Confectionery, producing some of his most renowned work.

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La Biennale di Venezia XII, Festival Internazionale Di Musica Contemporanea, 1949. Designed by Max Huber
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Max Huber. Swiss Graphic Designer | 1919 – 1992

Max Huber was born in 1919 in Switzerland. He studied at the Kunstgewerbeschule (School of Arts and Crafts) in Zurich where he excelled in graphic design and photography.  Huber worked across advertising, packaging, design and industrial design. He had a distinctive style that skillfully blended bright hues with photomontage.

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Design (Japan), 027, 1961. Cover design by Ryuichi Yamashiro
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Ryuichi Yamashiro. Japanese Graphic Designer | 1920 – 1977

Ryuichi Yamashiro (山城隆)  was a Japanese graphic designer and artist, born in Osaka in 1920. He belonged to the same generation of pioneering Japanese designers as Kohei Sugiura, Kiyoshi Awazu, Yoshio Hayakawa, Yūsaku Kamekura, Kazumasa Nagai, and Ikko Tanaka.