Renowned Japanese designer Toyotsugu Itoh, whose career spans both academia and professional practice, showcases his masterful blend of cultural heritage and modern minimalism in two award-winning posters. His work for ANET’s 30th anniversary (above, left) cleverly incorporates typography as architectural elements, while his “Mount Tado” piece (above, right) transforms traditional Chinese characters into a sacred mountainscape, demonstrating his unique ability to weave narrative and visual symbolism into impactful graphic design. 

By: Toyotsugu Itoh, Designer & Founder, Toyotsugu Itoh Design Office

ANET 30th Anniversary Exhibition

This poster is for the 30th anniversary exhibition of the Aichi Art and Culture Network (ANET), an organization for artists and designers in the Aichi Prefecture of Japan. I made a window with folds connecting to form the four letters of this organization’s contracted name, “ANET.” I designed the poster for this organization to be able to be opened so that a message to society regarding the 30th anniversary could be put inside. Through the promotion of this exhibition, I obtained some favorable feedback.

Mount Tado

This is work for a poster exhibition; its theme was “Hometown in My Heart.” I created the mountain in my hometown. It’s not high, but covers a lot of area in the town. There is a shrine at the foot of it, and we can see the entrance gate from the front. I designed my poster around the impression that this whole mountain is a space for the deity. Three Chinese characters spell out this mountain’s name, and I tried to blend them into this mountain’s surface. During the poster exhibition, I obtained some favorable feedback.

Toyotsugu Itoh was born in 1958 in the Mie Prefecture in Japan. He studied at Mie University, majoring in art. After graduating in 1981, he established his own design studio, Toyotsugu Itoh Design Office, three years later. When he’s not designing, he teaches at the graduate school at Nagoya Zokei University. Over the years, he has won awards from JAGDA, the 15th International Poster Biennale, the International Poster Competition, and Poster Stellars, and is a member of the Japan Graphic Designers Association Inc. and the Chubu Creators Club.

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