Ikko Tanaka, Gift of Ikko Tanaka.田中一光

Poster, Communication & Print, 1991. screenprint on paper

Ikko Tanaka, a Japanese graphic designer, is acknowledged as an innovator in the realm of modern Japanese graphic design. He blended Western modernist design principles with traditional Japanese aesthetics, resulting in a fresh visual language tailored to contemporary viewers. Tanaka's adoption of geometric shapes and a restrained color scheme underscores his deep admiration for the Bauhaus, a renowned German design institution active from 1919 to 1933. However, unlike the stark, mechanical aesthetics typical of modernist design, Tanaka's work consistently exuded a playful spirit.