Yusaku kamekura biography of michael
•
Yusaku Kamekura
Japanese graphic designer
Yūsaku Kamekura (亀倉雄策, Kamekura Yūsaku; April 6, 1915 – May 11, 1997) was a Japanese graphic designer, the leading figure in post-World War II Japanese graphic design.[1][2] His stature in the field led to the nickname "Boss".[1]
Early life and career
[edit]Yūsaku Kamekura was born on April 6, 1915, in Yoshidamachi, Nishi-Kambara, Niigata Prefecture, Japan. He graduated from Nippon University High School in 1933.[3] He took his first paying assignment at 17, when he designed the Japanese edition of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's Night Flight.[4]
From 1935 to 1937, Kamekura studied at the Institute of New Architecture and Industrial Arts in Tokyo.[3] The Institute was founded by Renshichiro Kawakita to bring the precepts of the Bauhaus design movement to Japan.[5] In 1938, he began working for Yōnosuke Natori laying out Nippon, a multilingual cultural magazine.
•
First edition. Text in English and Japanese.
9 x 11.75 softcover book with 168 pages devoted to International graphic design, art and illustration. CREATION was the brainchild of editor Yusaku Kamekura, who envisioned an arts magazine with no advertising (like Brodovitch’s PORTFOLIO) and a limited life span. The first issue of CREATION clearly stated that the series would end with issue 20. And it did; but while CREATION was around, it was a true heavyweight in its presentation of both vintage and contemporary graphic design. Each issue profiled a half-dozen designers with a one-page text introduction and biography, followed by 20 + pages of the designers work in glorious full color.
Each issue of CREATION is a real treat in terms of content and production and all are highly recommended.
Ikko Tanaka by Mamoru Yonekura: 30 pages of full-page color work reproductions.
Paul Rand by Shigeo Fukuda: 26 pages of full-page color work reproductions. Paul Rand had a longstanding friendship
•
Yusaku Kamekura, Japan
AGI member since 1955
Back to members
He studied at the Institute of New Architecture and Industrial Arts in Tokyo, specializing in basic composition theory. Founding member (1960) and later director of Nippon Design Centre. Chairman of the Japan Graphic Designers Association. He was the art director of Nippon magazine, which introduced the country’s culture to the world. He was a great adherent of the International Typographic Style. The use of Japanese aesthetics, combined with geometric and linear forms and dramatic photography, enabled him to communicate effectively with an international audience. His posters for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics were honoured with the Grand Prize of the Ministry of Education. Kamekura also acted as the design director for those Games. The Tokyo ADC honoured him with four gold, five silver and several bronze medals. He designed posters for Expo 70 (Osaka), Interski ’79 and Rayon and Synthetic Fibres of Japan (1961), the 1972 Sa