社団法人 日本グラフィックデザイナー協会 JAGDA

Message from the awardee

Receiving an award named after Yusaku Kamekura – the highest accolade in graphic design – for my work in conjunction with the 60th anniversary of The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo (MOMAT) denotes a positive assessment of the museum’s judgment toward visual communication and also serves to foster broad awareness of the anniversary itself. As one who bears responsibility for design in public venues, these are glad tidings indeed, and I wish to express my sincere appreciation to those who have chosen to bestow this honor upon me. My work for MOMAT began with development of a symbol in 2002. With the passage of time, the relationship between the museum and myself has progressively strengthened, and in the intervening years on a continual basis I have been engaged to design items necessary to the museum’s operation: for example, the staff’s business cards, special invitations to exhibitions, admission tickets, stationery and so on. Besides development of the designs themselves, this work has also focused on less artistic aspects such as creating an environment conducive to the usage of design and management of printing. In order to preserve and enhance the image of this nationally founded art museum, I was convinced that the proper method would be to deliver creative works of dignity and high quality appropriate to a public venue, and it was with this conviction that I took on the job as “manager.” Because the client’s understanding and a cooperative framework are necessary in order to construct an ideal image, I believe I have imposed time-consuming burdens on MOMAT’s staff. Also, without the extraordinary efforts made by the printing company, continuation would not have been possible. Over the course of such a long time, there were occasions when I seemed lost, unsure which direction to turn; but at such times, I would envision the unseeable noble spirits of Shojiro Ishibashi – the founder of Bridgestone Corporation who donated the museum – and of Yoshiro Taniguchi, the museum’s architect, as well as the spirit imbued in the activities of the museum staff throughout its history. And with their help I would be inspired and the way forward would become clear.
I wish to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude to Sachio Kamogawa, Director of MOMAT, and to all others involved who understood the significance and value of my 10 years of design work and entrusted me to develop a design for the museum’s commemorative 60th anniversary. More than anything else, receiving trust in my design stance and judgment is the power that enables me to create and move continuously forward.