Hibiki Yoshizaki (吉崎 響, Yoshizaki Hibiki; born March 10, 1980) is a Japanese video artist, animator, music video…Hibiki Yoshizaki (吉崎 響, Yoshizaki Hibiki; born March 10, 1980) is a Japanese video artist, animator, music video director, art director, and motion graphics designer. He is best known for his animated music videos "ME!ME!ME!" and "GIRL," which gained mainstream popularity both in Japan and internationally after being submitted to the Japan Animator Expo. He also works as VJ Cotobuki with Naoki Nagayasu.
Akihide Satou (Japanese: 佐藤彰秀, Hepburn: Satō Akihide) is a Japanese guitarist, producer and member of the visual kei…Akihide Satou (Japanese: 佐藤彰秀, Hepburn: Satō Akihide) is a Japanese guitarist, producer and member of the visual kei rock band Breakerz under talent agency B Zone and record label Zain Records.
Nagi Noda (野田 凪, Noda Nagi; November 18, 1973 – September 7, 2008) was a Japanese pop artist and art director born in…Nagi Noda (野田 凪, Noda Nagi; November 18, 1973 – September 7, 2008) was a Japanese pop artist and art director born in Tokyo. Noda spent much of her career working as a freelance art director. She directed multiple campaigns for brands such as Nike, Laforet, and Panasonic. In addition to her commercial works, she also was a prolific artist, taking on various solo projects. Such projects include: her half-panda sculptures, Hanpanda; a collaboration clothing brand with American artist Mark Ryden, Broken Label; and her unique hair hats. She held multiple solo exhibits throughout her career, and a post-humous exhibit was held to commemorate her work in 2011, a testament to her legacy and reputation as a designer. Noda's works are defined by artificiality and surreality, balancing between visual art and commercial relations with a high degree of creativity and non-conformity in their aesthetic and narration. She founded the design firm "Uchuu Country," where Japanese art director Yuni Yoshida also worked until starting her own agency in 2007. Noda began her career directing advertising campaigns for Harajuku's Laforet shopping mall. Among her most well-known advertising works are the short film Mariko Takahashi's Fitness Video for Being Appraised as an "Ex-fat Girl", the half-panda-half-something-else Hanpanda life-sized figures, and the video for Japanese singer Yuki's song "Sentimental Journey". She paired up with Yuki again in 2005 to direct the opening song for the anime Honey & Clover, which was her only participation in a standard narrative work. Other works include a television advertisement for Coca-Cola (with music by Jack White), a collaboration with Medicom Toy to produce original Nagi Noda Be@rbricks, a video for the Scissor Sisters song "She's My Man", and the video for "Hearts On Fire" by Cut Copy, which was the last music video she made. Per her biography in Women in Graphic Design, "The Works of Nagi Noda often make a disconcerting impression, with an aesthetic ranging from surreal to bizarre to poetic." Noda cited her unusual upbringing as having a large influence on her work. In a 2003 interview, she recalled how her parents would take her to look for UFOs or make her watch TV in black and white so she could learn to imagine color. Noda died on September 7, 2008, at age 34, after surgical complications from injuries sustained in a traffic accident the previous year.
Kosaku Akimoto (秋元 宏作, Akimoto Kōsaku; born January 29, 1968) is a retired Nippon Professional Baseball catcher. He…Kosaku Akimoto (秋元 宏作, Akimoto Kōsaku; born January 29, 1968) is a retired Nippon Professional Baseball catcher. He used to play for the Yokohama BayStars.
Jun Ichikawa (市川 準, Ichikawa Jun; 25 November 1948 – 19 September 2008) was a Japanese film director and screenwriter.…Jun Ichikawa (市川 準, Ichikawa Jun; 25 November 1948 – 19 September 2008) was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. He was first a director of television commercials before adding filmmaking to his creative activities. His most famous film outside Japan is Tony Takitani, an adaptation of a short story by Haruki Murakami. He died of a cerebral hemorrhage after suddenly collapsing at a restaurant, shortly before his latest film, Buy a Suit, was to premiere at the Tokyo International Film Festival.
Jūgatsu Toi (戸井 十月, Toi Jūgatsu; 12 October 1948 – 28 July 2013) was a Japanese travel writer and visual producer. He…Jūgatsu Toi (戸井 十月, Toi Jūgatsu; 12 October 1948 – 28 July 2013) was a Japanese travel writer and visual producer. He became a travel writer after his activity as an illustrator and reporter.
Eiko Ishioka (石岡 瑛子, Ishioka Eiko; July 12, 1938 – January 21, 2012) was a Japanese art director, costume designer, and…Eiko Ishioka (石岡 瑛子, Ishioka Eiko; July 12, 1938 – January 21, 2012) was a Japanese art director, costume designer, and graphic designer known for her work in stage, screen, advertising, and print media. Noted for her advertising campaigns for the Japanese boutique chain Parco, she collaborated with sportswear company Descente in designing uniforms and outerwear for members of the Swiss, Canadian, Japanese, and Spanish teams at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City (in collaboration with graphic designer Rafael Esquer) and was the director of costume design for the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. She won the Academy Award for Best Costume Design for her work in Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 romantic-horror film Bram Stoker's Dracula, which was based on Bram Stoker's 1897 novel, and received a posthumous nomination in the same category for her work in Tarsem Singh's 2012 fantasy comedy film Mirror Mirror. She was also nominated for three Tony Awards for her set and costume design in M. Butterfly and costume design in Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.
Kazuko Koike (小池一子, Koike Kazuko; born 1936) is a creative director born in Tokyo. She graduated from the School of…Kazuko Koike (小池一子, Koike Kazuko; born 1936) is a creative director born in Tokyo. She graduated from the School of Arts, Letters and Sciences, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan. She is member of the Advisory Board for Muji (“Mujirushi Ryōhin”) since its founding and Professor Emeritus at Musashino Art University in Tokyo. She is the founder and president of Kitchen Inc., an all-women studio that planned and produced design-related projects (since 1976). She is founder and president of Sagacho Exhibit Space, an alternative space for arts in Saga, Koto-ku, Tokyo (1983–2000). She is editor and author of books including Issey Miyake, East Meets West (Heibonsha, 1978); Kukan no Aura (Aura of Space) (Hakusuisha, 1993); Fashion: Fashion as a Form of Polyhedron (Musashino Art University Press, 2004); Japanese Coloring (Libro, 1981); and Japan Design (Libro, 1984). Major awards include the 1985 Mainichi Design Prize and the 1995 Japan Award for the Promotion of Art and Culture. In September 2012, she curated the exhibition "Ikko Tanaka and Future/Past/East/West of Design" at 21_21 Design Sight in Tokyo. In March 2022, her works will be displayed in an exhibition, "Alternative! Kazuko Koike Exhibition -- Soft-Power Movement of Art & Design".
