Amnesty International Ikko Tanaka, 1977, Amnesty International, poster, An informational poster designed for a human rights company.
Close-up of Japan, 1985, Poster, Japan New Music Forum, A single work from a collection of posters that shares the same theme for exhibition purposes.
This booklet about Ikko Tanaka Zeyu Wang in the Fall of 2022 for DSGD 83 Professor Ragouzeos at San Jose State University. Front and back cover contains all original work by Zeyu Wang.
interior pages are as follows: design,James Cartwright, 2012. design,James Cartwright, 2012
Ikko Tanaka was a Japanese graphic designer born in Nara in 1930. His hometown was referred to as the “religious center for buddhism,” so Ikko had many opportunities to familiarize himself with artistic elements.
As a child, he studied art and later on got involved in drama and theatrical studies. After graduating from Kyoto College of art in 1950, he moved on with his career in Osaka and became one the founders of the Nippon Design Center in 1960. Then when he materialized his own style of graphic design with massive cultural influence, Ikko started his own studio in tokyo on1963.
Theater poster, 1972, Offset lithograph, A poster designed for a play.
1988 Hiroshima Appeals, 1988, offset lithograph, A poster of Hiroshima appeals art exhibition.
His studio was quite successful at the time and was able to contribute to the Tokyo Olympic Games and Nara Silk Road Expo in Japan. Corporations like Mazda, Hanae Mor, Issey Miyake all developed a short term collaboration with the studio, and the result was satisfying. Internationally, his work includes but is not limited to the poster of Argentinean orchestra concerts, Noh theater, and international Garden Exhibition.
Nihon Buyo, 1981, College of Fine Arts, UCLA,Offset lithograph, A poster of a Japanese styled dance performance at the UC.
Tanaka Sharaku, 1995, Toshusai Sharaku, A work for the 200th year anniversary of a japanese artist Toshusai Sharaku
Ikko Tanaka’s influence and impact on the design society is not limited to the mastery works he created, nor the unique style that he approaches as a designer, but also to introduce the western world about Japanese culture and how it could be expressed in the design field. As a big fan of Japanese style theater art, Ikko did most of his earlier work as posters that have a strong cultural influence to it. Then as he started his career, he organized an exhibition in 1965 that not only introduced his concept and style of a culturally influenced design to the rest of the world, but also invited many successful western designers as well to trade opinions and work along. This successful exhibition encouraged collaborations among Japanese and western designers and developed meaningful friendships with his fellow contemporaries. By having this experience and interactions with designers from all over the world, Ikko founded the Nippon Design Center and there he was able to build an interconnected network of artists and designers.
Hanae Mori, 1977, screenprint on paper, Art Center Acquisition Fund
