Outlining the practical outcome

Primary deliverable of practical outcome based on dissertation topic: the poster. 

The poster has a significant role in the establishing graphic design in Japan. 

The JAAC (Japan Advertising Artists club) was set up in 1951 which gave young designers with an “opportunity to explore various topics and experiment with the new forms of visual expression” (Calza and Tanaka, 1997, p.242). 

Growth in the Japanese economy made the printing process a lot cheaper. Hence companies started to produce their own posters as opposed to spending large sums of money creating TV, newspapers, magazine ads. This was the influence of mass media.

Poster design was popular in Japan as the Tokyo Art Directors Club yearbook received “more than two thousand” (Calza and Tanaka, 1997, p.243) posters submitted every year.

The poster is an appropriate medium to communicate Japanese ideals as “its message is presented as a concentrated essence from which all superfluities have been shorn, much in the manner of short Japanese literary forms such as the haiku and the tanka. The simple, concise and symbolic concentration which is the essence of the poster has much in common with the symbolic approach underlying Japanese family crests, which reached their peak of sophistication during the Edo period” (Calza and Tanaka, 1997, p.243).

The poster designs will be based on B sizes as they are the standard in Japan.

• JIS B1 728mm x 1030mm
• JIS B2 515mm x 728mm

These posters will be designed on Japanese paper as it is appropriate given the subject of the dissertation. Japanese paper offers better texture that encourages the user to feel and because of the way they are produced, there is better absorption of the ink which results in a higher quality print over Western paper. Furthermore, it follows from a quote by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki, “Western paper turns away the light, while our paper seems to take it in, to envelop it gently, like the soft surface of a first snowball.” (Tanizaki, 2006, p.17).

Japanese paper quality

• Joushitsushi ("top-quality paper") contains 100% chemical pulp; 
• Chuushitsu-shi ("medium-quality paper") contains a minimum of 70% chemical pulp; 
• Aatoshi ("art paper") is machine coated paper, available in top quality and medium quality (Joushitsu and Chuushitsu); 
• Mashin-kootoshi ("machine coated paper"), also called Kootoshi, is machine coated paper given only a thin coat of clay; 
• Aato-posutoshi ("art-post paper") is cover stock coated on one side.

Shortlisted stock sizes and weights

• A2 Kozo thick white 110gsm  
• A2 Kozo thick natural 110gsm
• A2 Inbe thick white 125gsm
• A2 Bamboo Paper 170gsm

Poster reflecting the transitional period of Japan

• a poster that symbolises the dissertation
• a poster that represents Japan as a whole transforming into her new identity
• determining the main factor in Japans new change. Modernisation through adopting Western culture

Aim of poster

• to demonstrate the techniques of post-war poster designers 
• to communicate a point of transition from old to new
• a test of ability in concentrating the essence of meaning
• to be an accompanying piece to the dissertation
• to follow Japanese sensibilities in design such as simplicity, as Tadasu Fukano describes, the “Japanese people have a taste for simple beauty rather than for ornamental things. From ikebana (flower arrangement), the tea ceremony to Oriental calligraphy, the feature of Japanese traditional art lies in the simplicity and charm of variety where unimportant details are omitted and only the essence is allowed to remain. With such an intrinsic taste for simplicity, it is natural that the Japanese are attracted toward the simple and orderly array of English letters.” (Fukano, 1992, p.237)

(Fukano, 1992)

Fukano, T. (1992). Japanese are fond of English letters. In: Applied Typography 2, 1st ed. Tokyo: Graphic-sha Publishing Co., Ltd.