社団法人 日本グラフィックデザイナー協会 JAGDA

Message from the awardee

Having been born in 1965, one year after the Tokyo Olympics, I never saw Mr. Kamekura’s Olympic posters in real time. Subsequently, however, from around the time I entered art school and began aspiring to become a graphic designer, I became strongly attracted to those posters, and they took on a special significance for me. I was deeply moved by Mr. Kamekura’s motifs using minimal elements–the Japanese flag and the five Olympic rings–and by the indelible impact those designs made, to the extent that from that time forward Mr. Kamekura’s work became a standard to which I aspired in all my work in graphic design and advertising. Through the years I have sought to achieve broad recognition for the power of designs that are simple and clear and strong. I always hoped that someday I would have the opportunity to meet Mr. Kamekura and to hear his views on design directly, but unfortunately that occasion never came to pass.
The posters for which I have won this award use simple, primary colors and logo to give the impression of a campaign promoting a corporate identity, as if a super-major brand called “Smap” was being launched. The campaign, which made no use whatsoever of visuals of the group but rather condensed and visualized their popularity, talent and appeal into the logo design, was a creative endeavor that finally realizes what I have wanted to do ever since my first encounter with Mr. Kamekura’s Olympic posters. In that respect it makes me truly happy to have been given this award for these posters, and my hope now is to continue creating works that are clear and strong, founded in my belief in the power of design.