Yusaku Kamekura



Born in the Niigata prefecture in Japan and a student of the Institute of New Architecture and Industrial Arts, Yusaku Kamekura was more than acquainted with the Bauhaus principles and sense of design. Starting his design career at the publishing company Nippon Kaupapu, Kamekura has more than half a decade of experience in the design world. Combining the influences of the Bauhaus with insight to his traditional heritage, his work is recognized for its colorfully minimalist approach.

Perhaps most well known for his work for the Tokyo 1964 Olympics, he combined modernist principles and typography with the Japanese cultural heritage through the simplistic combination of the words "Tokyo 1964", the olympic rings and the sun from the Japanese flags. His work for the Olympics also marked the first time that photography was used to promote the event. Another success of equal magnitude was his poster design for the 1970 Expo in Osaka, which won several national and international design awards.