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.
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.
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.
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.
