The special exhibition “Modes and Characters: Exploring the Poetics of Graphic Design” will be held at 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT in Roppongi, Tokyo from November 23 (Thursday, national holiday).
The exhibition explores the history of modern graphic design and unravels the relationship between text and design since the 1990s, when it became mainstream to conduct much of the data production process for publications and printed materials on personal computers. The exhibition directors are Kiyonori Muroga, an editor who has written numerous books on graphics and typography; Tetsuya Goto, a graphic design researcher; and Kensaku Kato, a graphic designer.
The exhibition will feature works by about 50 designers and artists from Japan and abroad, divided into 13 themes, including “formability,” “physicality,” and “media. Visitors can view more than 250 graphic works, including actual posters, books, and signboards, as well as a wall-sized display of large-scale output.
Modes and Characters: Exploring the Poetics of Graphic Design
Dates: November 23, 2023 (Thursday, holiday) – March 10, 2024 (Sunday)
Venue: 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT Gallery 1 & 2
Closed: Tuesdays (open on December 26), Year-end and New Year holidays (December 27-January 3)
Organizers: 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT, Miyake Issey Foundation for Design Culture
Supported by: Agency for Cultural Affairs, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Minato City Board of Education, Japan Graphic Design Association,
Tokyo Type Directors Club, Japan Typography Association
Special Support: Mitsui Fudosan Co.
Supported by: TSDO Inc.
Cooperation: DNP Cultural Promotion Foundation
Exhibition Director: Kiyonori Muroga, Tetsuya Goto, Kensaku Kato
Graphic Design: LABORATORIES
Venue Design: Takashi Nakahara
Venue Design Cooperation: Asagi Yoshida
Planning Cooperation: Moe Nishiyama
Participating Designers (in alphabetical order)
Akitsu Sekkei, Shin Akiyama, Adobe, Tomoyuki Arima, Shun Ishizuka, Yuri Kaminishi, Experimental Jetset, M/M (Paris), Yoromoa Oshima, Daijiro Ohara, Mariko Okazaki, Katsushika Kajika, Kohei Kamiboriuchi, Yasuhisa Kawatani, Atsumi Kikuchi, Kazunari Kitagawa, Aiko Koike, Shun Sasaki, Kashiwa Sato, Taku Satoh, John Warwicker (Tomato), Tetsuo Suzuki, Sulki & Min, Shin Sobue Kozfish, Dainippon Typographic Union, Hajime Tachibana, Fumiho Tachibana, The Designers Republic, Voting Poster Project, Tsutomu Toda, Hideki Nakajima, Masayoshi Nakajo, Yasushi Nagahara, Naoko Nakui, Nagi Noda, Noritake, Kazunari Hattori, Kenya Hara, Heikichi Harata, BALCOLONY., Naomi Hirabayashi, Midori Hirota, Gento Matsumoto, Ryu Mieno, Isao Mitobe, Takashi Mifune, Satoko Miyakoshi, Kazuhiro Yamada, Katsunobu Yoshida, Natsuko Yoneyama, Bunpei Yorifuji, Zhihiro Oh, and others
