The 6th Yusaku Kamekura Design Award Kazunari Hattori

Award-winning work: Edition design of Ryuko Tsushin fasion magazine

Message from the awardee

When I was in my late teens, a teacher at the art school I was attending took me to see an exhibition of Yusaku Kamekura’s works at the Matsuya Department Store in Ginza. Although at the time I knew that I wanted to become a graphic designer, I had relatively little understanding of what kind of work that entailed, so now, in retrospect, I know that I wasn’t able to understand the high level of Mr. Kamekura’s artistry and design philosophy. However, I certainly did sense the greatness and richness of design and the personality of the designer, and I was quietly excited to think that this was, after all, the kind of work I wanted to try my hand at. The memory of that day has remained with me for a long time, and continuously served to inspire me. In those days, one of my favorite reading materials was Ryuko Tsushin. I would lie on the floor of my bedroom and, again and again, gaze at this magazine whose high level of creativity gave off a special aura. I never dreamed that 20 years later I would become its art director. This was the work for which I have been given the Yusaku Kamekura Design Award, marking another encounter with Mr. Kamekura. Thinking this to be the perfect occasion, I have pored once again through books of his works and re-read his essays. Yusaku Kamekura, who 20 years ago I felt was like a light seen ever so faintly far off in the distance, now seemed to be like a giant tree standing tall immediately before me. Staring up in awe at his brilliantly flourishing greatness, I became quietly excited, once again, to renew my determination to work as a graphic designer.

Kazunari Hattori

Kazunari Hattori

Born in Tokyo, 1964. In 1988, graduated from Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, with a degree in Design, and joined Light Publicity. Went freelance in 2001. Major work to date includes: advertising art direction for “Kewpie Half” (Q.P. Corporation), “Tanrei Green Label” (Kirin Brewery) and JR East’s “TRAING” campaign; art direction for redesign of Ryuko Tsushin magazine; graphic design for “Jean-Marc Bustamante” and “Takuma Nakahira” exhibitions at Yokohama Museum of Art; and book design for Obunsha’s Petit Royal Dictionnaire Français-Japonais and LEXIS English-Japanese Dictionary and Nakako Hayashi’s Here and There. Awards received include Tokyo ADC Award (1999, 2000, 2001), Tokyo ADC Members Award (2003), and Tokyo TDC Members Award (2004).
(As of June 2004)

Book containing the design: Graphic Design in Japan 2004