Category — Graphic Design

Graphic designer Bunpei Yorifuji, the mastermind behind Tokyo Metro’s highly popular manner posters, has relaunched his website. All his previous work, which was, prior to the relaunch,unavailable, is now neatly archived by year. Searching through the treasure trove of graphic design-goodness you will find, among other gems, this great series of infographics summarizing statistics from 20th century Japan (and the world).

click images to enlarge | life expectancy, birthrate, global population, Japan population

They were done for Wired Magazine (JP version) in 1998 with the aim of displaying charts and statistics in humorous, entertaining light.

violent crime, traveling abroad, global co2 emissions, Japan co2 emissions

I was especially amused by the idea of conveying population growth by shrinking the planet. I also got a kick out of showing Japan’s CO2 emmissions by enlarging (and evolving) the exhaust pipe on a bosozoku-style car.

national burden rate (tax + social security)

Related:

• Bunpei Yorifuji Exhibition
• Bunpei Yorifuji Mottainai Logo
• Please do it at home

Over the summer Tokushu Tokai Holdings changed their name to Tokushi Tokai Paper. And to commemorate the event the specialty paper company enlisted Hiromura Design Office to give their headquarters a facelift.

I think it’s fantastic, and is exactly what a paper company needs. It has elements of technology, modernism,  organization, and, most importantly, it just really looks like they know (the capabilities of) their product.

In case you were curious, the Masaaki Hiromura (of Hiromura Design Office) is the mastermind behind the signage campaign for the highly acclaimed 9hr Hotel.

Akihiro Kumagaya recently completed a branding campaign for VIDA, a beauty salon. Very clever!

Related:

• Neon Tie by Akihiro Kumagaya
• Peelers by Akihiro Kumagaya

Designer Shun Kawakami has put his signature touch on the 5th album of Japanese house-duo Studio Apartment.

In case you were wondering what the album sounds like, here is a sample.

Stunning…stunning graphic design for the “Design To Change The World Exhibition” by Takeo Nakano. I love the use of pictograms as a navigation device in these prints. The show is running through June 13, 2010.

There was a fascinating article in the New Yorker (Sub Rec’d) a few months ago about the stove pictured above.

About the exhibition:
Venue 1: Tokyo Design Hub (5/15 – 6/13)
Venue 2: Axis Gallery (5/28 – 6/13)
Description: After it’s huge success in 2007, Cooper Hewitt’s Design for the Other 90% has taken on a new life in Japan.

Gamers listen up! Beginning May 1st and running through the end of the month, My Famicase Exhibition will return for it’s 3rd year. The exhibition, which was open to everyone from designers and illustrators to housewives and businessmen, invites you to relive your childhood by designing your very own Famicom game label.

Last year’s entries included some humorous titles (see below). And with some pretty well known illustrators joining the mix, such as Yukiko Yokoo – who created the characters for Mizuiro Blood and Taiko no Tatsujin – this year probably won’t dissapoint.

above: from 2009, a game title that reads “Oh, how nostalgic.”

Also participating are Adrien Dufond, flocke design, Tokyo Pistol and Nozomu Furuya. The show will once again be held at Meteor in my home town of Kichijoji! (Gmap)

Related:

• Honbachi by Tokyo Pistol

Graphic/product designers D-Bros, whose fruit-shaped note pad Kudamemo has been so popular it prompted them to issue a press release warning consumers about all the counterfeits popping up in “net shops” and “auction sites,” recently designed a new line of stationary. They include these Buranco (swing) mobile cards…

…and these Bloom pop-up cards.

Related:

• 2009 calenders! oh no!
• 2010 calendars! oh my!

800 for eats has added some new items to their beautifully designed minimal food lineup. They include, honey and rice. I wrote about them early last year so allow me to lift the paragraph below as my sentiments for the label remain largely unchanged.

I’ve always been a firm believer that first and foremost we eat with our eyes. “800 for eats” is a brand after my own heart. A tie-up between the designshop, self-described food director Fumie Okamura, and graphic designer Shunichi Miki (designer of this award winning mochi packaging – the similarities are quite evident ), 800 for eats emphasizes good design combined with local foods and how they relate to each other.

I would buy all of these. And then, I would eat them.

click images to enlarge (recommended)

Tomohiro Kato is a twenty-something up-and-coming graphic designer and head of design studio EDING:POST. We’ve been fans of his work since ’08  and absolutely love his latest art direction; a campaign for Neo Green that includes business cards, maps, member cards and envelopes.

Located smack dab in central Tokyo, Neo Green is a retailer of planters, books and other green paraphernalia.

The concept is pretty straight forward. I think the execution was superb!

Related:

• Hamburger by EDING:POST

Check out this new capsule hotel that just opened last December. 9h is located in Kyoto, ready to service the burnt-out businessman or the broke backpacker 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. I love the concept and the simple pictograms. Everything looks so futuristic!

Monocle has your video of, what is, a joint collaboration between Fumie Shibata (amenities), Masaaki Hiromura (graphic design) and Takaaki Nakamura (interior design).

Related:

• First Cabin capsule hotel