- Previous to World War II, Japan had remained
fairly isolated and traditional.
After World War II, the MacArthur Plan
revived the Japanese economy
and introduced social changes.
Modernity and technology was embraced.
By the 1960s, Japanese design reflected
an integration of Western ideas into a Japanese aesthetic.
In some instances, this was expressed with Swiss modernism.
Gan Hosoya used the Golden Section, Swiss typography
and Helvetica for a Yamaha motorcycle poster.
The purely Swiss approach is adapted, however,
by turning the image on the vertical,
using an aspect of Japanese writing.
From the mid-1960s to the 1970s,
a new Japanese aesthetic emerged.
It maintained ties to Swiss modernism
and a preference for neutral geometric forms.
Japanese techniques such as flattened shapes
and high contrast were combined with a connection
to mathematical proportions and minimal symbols.
Ryuichi Yamashiro's tree planting poster
demonstrates integrating Japanese traditions
and incorporating International influences.
He uses Japanese calligraphy and spatial composition
with a more conceptual way,
perhaps influenced by Western communication.
After WWII, Yusaku Kamekura emerged
as an influential design leader in Japan.
He was nicknamed "Boss" in Japanese
by the Tokyo design community.
Kamekura worked tirelessly to change
the idea that the applied art such as
graphic design was inferior to fine art.
He founded the Japan Advertising Club and strengthened
the position of graphic design as a professional discipline.
His poster for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics is a
masterpiece of simplicity and concept.
It connects to European modernism
with flat geometry and symbolism,
but adopts a Japanese approach to symmetry.
Kamekura's poster for Expo '70 combines a language
of traditional Japanese crests with expressive
geometry and Western Sans-serif typography.
The result is modern, harmonious, and cohesive.
Ikko Tanaka created imagery and iconography
with rigid grid structures and color fields.
He took the expected imagery from Japanese culture,
such as a geisha or samurai and reimagined
it with modern geometry.
Tadanori Yokoo combined the psychedelic approach
of Fillmore posters with Japanese symbols and forms.
Western iconography, such as Marilyn Monroe,
yachts, and the Capitol Building in Washington D.C.
are used with the traditional Japanese
woodblock techniques and text.
Yokoo also manages space
with traditional Japanese composition.
Objects at the top of the frame are the most distant,
and objects at the bottom are the closest to the viewer.
After World War II, Japan rose from defeat to become
a global leader in technology and manufacturing.
Graphic design in Japan matched this rise,
moving from a secondary trade in 1950
to a well respected profession by 1990.
Contemporary Japanese design combined the traditions
and methods of Japan with modern ideas.
The result was a fresh aesthetic that was
both rational and intuitive simultaneously.