Micro-genres: Japanese Graphic Design

Trends

Bright colours

• red, gold, black
• colour comes from the streets of Harajuku or vibrancy of Shibuya

Mixed Languages

• both Japanese and Roman characters in typography
• Japanese words are usually written with ideographic characters, mixed with Roman characters
• the contrast of the two languages makes for an intriguing comparison of the two cultures and a highly engaging typographical design

Custom Typography

• draw up the characters from a few words rather than creating an entire typeface
• type is custom created for each project and for this reason it features heavily in designs

Brush strokes

• traditional practices of Japanese calligraphy, also known as an art form called 'Shodou'
• messy, streaky, crude - no corrections to each stroke and each line should flow into the next

Gradients

• often used for backgrounds to bring life and colour to designs

Organic floral patterns

• Hanaktoba is the study of flowers
• certain flowers and their colours are tied to certain ideas, symbols, and emotions.
• pink flowers = curing of diseases
• red flowers = passionate love
• white flowers = virtue

Circles

• symbols of balance and harmony
• a common motif used throughout Japanese culture is the Mon, a Japanese counterpart to the European coat of arms
• the Mon is typically contained within a circle, have axial or rotational symmetry, abstract geometric shapes rather than realistic reproductions of real-world items

'Cute culture'

• exaggeratedly drawn cartoons
• funny mascots help to develop more intimate relationships and tell the audience that the owner is friendly and unpretentious

Information-dense design

• very information-heavy and densely packed with type and content
• minimalism does not have as large of a place in mainstream Japanese design 
• cultural meaning = details are a welcome aspect of communication and therefore web design too, as a website conveys information and sells the company and its products in place of a live salesperson

Collage and layering

• type, imagery and other elements are taken and layered over one another
• dynamic
• fun 
• bust
• clever composition
• strong concept

Designers
Ryu Mieno

• bold use of typography and lettering
• illustration, heavy pattern and fluid shapes = energy and bustle
• freelance designer in Kyoto
• 'Alternative Train' shows train stations from another point of view, combining photography and a busy collection of text, irregular layout to represent the conditions of a noisy or clamourous train station
• 'Sound Performance' was made for a music festival and aimed to depict the spirit of the event, physical interaction between the music and people by using the script and the sound swirl
• his practice is inspired by observation of natural form and shape that can then transpose to symbols and typography

alternative train

sound performance

Julien Mercier

• swiss graphic designer living and working in Tokyo
• a mixture of Swiss typography with Japanese Kanjis (adopted logographic Chinese characters known as hanzi, that are used in the Japanese writing system)

Tadashi Ueda

• Graphic designer, Tokyo