09.11.09
Kazuki Takamatsu creates some of the most unusual and quietly contemplative black and white illustrations I have seen in a very long time. They are like a frozen moment from a strange dream and each one is wildly gorgeous.
08.27.09
Talented painter and illustrator Yuta Onoda has updated with some new work to his painting section. For the uninitiated, get familiar. He’s talented.
07.11.09
Wow. Not much more to say. A friend of mine was trying to explain this to me last night so I just had to look it up and this is legit. I would say just for experience sake, this is probably something you would just have to see.
07.07.09
Japanese design agency, Commune has some really nice work in their collective portfolio. Commune consists of Ryo Ueda and Minami Mabuchi.
07.01.09
I was really impressed by the illustrative works of Marumiyan who emailed his work in yesterday. Marumiyan lives in Fukuoka, Japan and works as an illustrator and graphic designer. There is some really striking use of color and composition happening in some of the illustrative work.
06.24.09
I have been following Tessar Lo for a while now, back since my Design Is Kinky days. His work is just so dreamy and lyrical, it transports you into another world. His latest work is even better and the colors and imagery are just beautiful. The painting of the boy floating above the cityscape is something I have envisioned in my own dreams many times over and to see it painted makes me wonder about the universal mind. Keep an eye on Lo, he is the real deal.
05.17.09
Stardust sent me news of this recent campaign for J-Power in Japan. I was really amazed by the animation. Beautiful work.
Wow, there is a lot of credits on this one:
PROJECT NAME: J-POWER “nature”
RUNNING TIME: :30
DATE OF FIRST AIRING: April 15, 2009 (Japan only)
FILM STAGE/LOCATION(S): Japan
CLIENT: Electric Power Development Co., Ltd (“J-POWER”)
CITY/STATE: Tokyo, Japan
AD AGENCY: McCann Erickson Japan, Inc.
CITY/STATE: Tokyo, Japan
CREATIVE DIRECTOR/COPYWRITER: Isamu Nakamura
ART DIRECTORS: Takehiko Araki, Kenichi Horie
PRODUCTION COMPANIES: kirameki, inc. & Stardust Studios
CITY/STATE: Tokyo, Japan & Bicoastal, USA
DIRECTOR: Jake Banks
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: Naoki Noda
PRODUCTION MANAGER: Sachiko Tamaru (kirameki)
PRODUCER: Yoshiki Ishii (kirameki)
DESIGN/ANIMATION COMPANY: Stardust Studios
CITY/STATE: Bicoastal, USA
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Jake Banks
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Paul Abatemarco
DESIGN DIRECTOR: Neil Tsai
PRODUCERS: Jody MacKinnon, Clara Park, Steven Poulsen
DESIGNERS: Neil Tsai, Gretchen Nash, Tosh Kodama, Bill Bak, Ling Feng, Angela Ko, Jenny Ko, Juliet Park
ANIMATORS: Sang Lee, Angie Tien, Brian Broussard, George Longo, Damon Snyder, Ryan Hooks, Marisol Baltierra, Catherine Yoo, Giancarlo Rondani, Maithy Tran, Thomas Horne
2D ARTISTS: Brian Williams, Davina Sanchex, Stephen Edwards, Kristen Swanson
MUSIC ARTIST: Hifana
MUSIC PRODUCER: Masayo Okino
ADDITIONAL POST-PRODUCTION: Sony PCL
CITY/STATE: Tokyo, Japan
ONLINE EDITOR: Masashi Hosoda
MIXER: Tsutomu Higa
FINAL MIX COMPANY: Omnibus
CITY/STATE: Tokyo, Japan
MIXER: Norisato Nakauchi
04.26.09
‘Nam‘ is a Japanese graphic art collective established by Takayuki Nakazawa (Graphic Designer) and Hiroshi Manaka (Photographer). Since it’s inception over 10 artists now belong to the collective all ranging from various artistic backgrounds.
Via Trend Land
02.23.09
Some absolutely gorgeous Japanese prints comprise the portfolio of the talented artist Tenmyoya Hisashi.
02.21.09
Some very strange, unusual and disturbing yet original paintings at I Regret.
01.20.09
An icon of our profession passed January 11th from a stroke. Japanese graphic designer and artist Shigeo Fukuda was best known for his simple, iconic antiwar and environmental advocacy posters. If you would like to see more of Mr. Fukuda’s work you can do so here. You can also purchase a book detailing his work here and read the full story of his life and passing at the NY Times.
01.10.09
Really compelling and artfully composed images from photographer Kanako Sasaki.
Discovered via Picdit.
10.12.08
Wow, there are some really amazing photographs depicting just how densely packed the city of Tokyo really is in the portfolio of talented photographer, Shintaro Sato.
10.06.08
Wow. Stumbling upon the work of Johan Prag was far and away the most inspiring thing I discovered all day and probably so far in the last several weeks. All of the work on Prag’s site is absolutely amazing. Sensational work.
05.14.08
Japanese Graphic Designer, Takashi Okada AKA Hybrid Graphic has some spectacular typography on display at his website. He is currently working as a freelance designer creating design for websites, graphics, illustration, and Flash.
05.01.08
The Kaibo Zonshinzu Anatomy Scrolls were painted in 1819 by a Kyoto-area physician by the name of Yasukazu Minagaki (1784-1825). They have been heralded by Japan’s Ministry of Culture as evidence of the level of knowledge reached by medical science in the Edo period. The bodies used for the purpose of examination usually belonged to heinous criminals executed by decapitation. The pronounced differentiation of the illustrations when compared to European anatomical drawings from the same period is the total absence of romanticism whereas blood and other fluid are shown leaking from faces writhing is painful expressions.
The Keio University Library is currently storing the scrolls which contain 83 illustrations documenting over 40 bodies. The scrolls are regarded as the best collection of 19 century Japanese anatomical drawings ever found.
I have always been fascinated by the divide between Western and Eastern (Asian) art and these drawings only deepened my interest. You can read more about them and see several more illustrations at The Pink Tentacle.
04.16.08
Every once in a while you see a website that makes your jaw drop. That is what happened when I visited Kashiwa Sato’s website. I also almost had a seizure but sometimes seizure-inducing is a good thing. The site reminds me of the older work of Yugop.
Site aside, there is also a wealth of great work at the website. It comes almost unexpectedly because the strangeness of the site that hosts it. There is almost a strange push-pull juxtaposition going on. Sato is a rare breed however, sacrificing his identity for the integrity of the project and massaging style to solve the problem put to him by the client. That is the definition of a good designer.
Sato was born in 1965 and graduated in 1989 from Tama Art University with a degree in graphic design. After a stint at Japan’s second largest ad agency, Hakuhodo Inc., he went on to establish Samurai studio in 200.
Since then his major work has consisted of television commercials, commissioned work for music, product development, visual identity, branding and creative direction and art direction for every kind of client under the red sun.
He is also a published author. His shelf is home to almost every award the Japanese ad community has to offer. To top all of this off, he also gives back as a professor at Meiji Gakuin University.
Thank you for the link Mr. Richard Feldman.
