Issue #31 of Slanted, one of the most popular international graphic design magazines today, is devoted to Tokyo. Ian Lynam and Renna Okubo were invited to edit and curate this issue alongside Slanted Publishers founder Lars Harmsen.
We reached out to a mix of established and emerging designers, writers, illustrators, type designers and folks active in creating vibrant culture across the greater Tokyo region. Our intention was to show both the breadth of design culture in Tokyo as much as how international our fair city has become over the past decade-plus.
We conducted interviews and did photo shoots with heavy-hitting veteran designs like Taku Satoh, Nobuo Nakagaki, HeiQuiti Harata, Yoshihisa Shirai, Shin Akiyama, Yukimasa Matsuda and Tatsuya Akiyama, mid-career designers like Daijiro Ohara, Hideki Owa, Yosuke Yamaguchi, and emerging designers like Hideji Terada.
These designers, amongst others, are featured in video interviews here: www.slanted.de/tokyo
Illustrations, interviews, and essays complement the issue thematically. Slanted #31 comes with contributions by AQ, Bunny Bissoux, Digiki, direction Q, Jesse Freeman, Sara Gally, Adrian Hogan, Yuki Kameguchi, Kamimura & Co., Akinobu Maeda, Gui Martinez, Luis Mendo, Misako & Rosen, Nakano Design Office, Naoko Nakui, Nanook, Toshi Omagari, Yoshihisa Shirai, Shotype Design, snöw, so+ba, Fumio Tachibana, Tetsunori Tawaraya, Patrick Tsai, Typecache, Dan Vaughan, Village, Makoto Yamaki, Yamanote Yamanote, Ueda Yo, and Jody Zhou.
We are particularly proud of the Essays section of the magazine which helps highlight the talent of some of Tokyo’s best contemporary design and art theorists and writers including Taro Nettleton, Louise Rouse, Toshiaki Koga, Kiyonori Muroga, Kohei Sugiura and Eiko Nagase. The Essays section also features lovely pieces by our dear friend and VCFA colleague Mike Scaringe, Tyler School of Art colleague Dermot Mac Cormack, as well as type design legend Sumner Stone.
The work of Ian Lynam Design is heavily featured in Slanted #31 and Ian contributed an essay called “Making Waves: The Establishment of Graphic Design in Japan” about graphic design history. Ian is interviewed in a video here.
We are extraordinarily excited to have been part of this issue of Slanted which shows the vibrancy of our design communities in Tokyo and how we help to bridge cultures and make life in the world’s largest city more inclusive and fun.
Giant thanks to all of our friends and colleagues who participated.
You can pick up Slanted #31 here.
Get in touch if interested in working with us or to just say hello!